Minister reveals start date for talks on Ukraine's EU accession
Olha Stefanishyna, Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine (Photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine will start negotiations on the next steps towards European Union membership on Monday, December 18, states Olha Stefanishyna, Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine.
"I want to assure you that literally 15 minutes after the decision was adopted, I received a call from the European Commission. Already on Monday, December 18, we will be holding negotiations on the next steps," she states.
Stefanishyna adds that there is a work plan in place.
"But now, of course, we will take into account the geopolitical chessboard and determine the timeline based on that," the Vice Prime Minister says.
Start of negotiations for Ukraine's accession to the EU
On December 14, during a summit, the leaders of the European Union countries decided to support the start of negotiations for Ukraine's accession to the bloc.
Previously, there was a possibility that Hungary would veto such an initiative, but that did not happen. Journalists report that Prime Minister Viktor Orban left the room during the vote.
At the same time, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, suggested that negotiations for Ukraine's accession to the EU could start as early as March next year.
More details on what lies ahead for Ukraine can be found in the material by RBC-Ukraine.
