Ukraine's EU membership: Much work ahead but swift progress expected
Photo: Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine has a lot of work ahead in the process of joining the European Union (EU), but it will not take a long time, Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, stated during a public discussion titled "Ukraine's EU accession process: How to move efficiently and quickly."
According to Stefanishyna, Ukraine has a lot of work ahead to become capable of joining the EU and being part of the internal market. She noted that regardless of political will, it is impossible to become a member of the political bloc without meeting its criteria.
"This is the most important time for us to be ready, to have the ability to open all the clusters and chapters regarding accession, as well as the screening process," she added.
Stefanishyna added that, in her opinion, Ukraine's integration will not take a long time since the country is not new to the European integration process.
"We have a 10-year experience of the Association Agreement, as well as numerous elements of sectoral integration that go beyond the agreement itself, which is the most ambitious agreement the EU has ever concluded with a third country," she noted.
Priority on completing screening
As Deputy Head of the President's Office Ihor Zhovkva explained, Ukraine's most important task is to complete the screening of Ukrainian legislation, or at least the five chapters in Cluster 1. This may happen under the Polish presidency, which is quite realistic.
He added that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with each leader during the recent European Neighborhood Policy meeting or before the NATO summit and called for the opening of Cluster 1 as soon as possible.
"And then, after opening Cluster 1, not to wait for the closure of the chapter in Cluster 1, but also think of parallelly opening the other clusters. And this is the idea we are discussing now with the member states and the Commission," Zhovkva said, adding that the delegation heads will be formed very soon by the Cabinet of Ministers.
Ukraine's EU membership
At the end of February 2022, after the start of the full-scale war, Ukraine officially applied for EU membership. Subsequently, the country received candidate status. In December 2023, at the EU leaders' summit, a decision was made to start negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the bloc. The negotiations officially began on June 25.
