See you in Crimea, and see Ukraine in the EU - Vice President of European Parliament

"Member states must make a historic decision to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession in the near future. Despite the ongoing war, Ukraine has made significant progress in all seven recommendations required by the EU," he said.

Zile emphasized that the EU does not want to hear that Ukraine does not have control over parts of its territory as an argument against starting negotiations.

"We believe that Ukraine will regain its territory. It just needs our support. Mr. Lipavský (the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs) mentioned a vacation in Crimea. I would like to say that I will see you in Crimea, and we will see Ukraine in the European Union," said the Vice President of the European Parliament.

Ukraine's accession to the EU

Ukraine was granted candidate status for EU accession last year. Now, the country must fulfill a series of conditions to become a full-fledged member of the bloc.

As of the end of June, Ukraine had met two out of the seven conditions necessary to begin negotiations, and at the end of September, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that the country had completed the implementation of all the European Commission's recommendations at the government level.

The Ukrainian government had hoped for a positive assessment from the European Commission and a recommendation to start accession negotiations in 2023. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said that the country could begin accession negotiations with the EU as early as this year.

However, according to Politico, the EU is likely to announce the start of negotiations on Ukraine's membership by December of this year.

Furthermore, the President's Office noted that negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU are expected to begin in the first half of 2024.

For more on predictions about when negotiations for Ukraine's EU accession may begin and what obstacles may hinder this process, please refer to RBC-Ukraine's report.