Vice President of European Commission on Ukraine's accession to EU: It is a matter of several years

"I would assume that it is a matter of several years. Procedurally, the countries closest to the EU are Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Albania, with whom negotiations on accession have already begun. However, the EU will definitely not be joined by any country this year, so the negotiations will not proceed so quickly," she stated.

According to her, the idea of "full membership or non-membership" is no longer relevant.

"We have identified several areas in which candidate countries can become closer to the EU without being its members. Countries can establish digital interaction with the EU, engage in energy, and transportation infrastructure, we can recognize each other's qualifications, a candidate country can gain access to the European market, albeit with restrictions. Ukraine can achieve all this before becoming a member," Jourová emphasized.

She added that anti-European rhetoric would allow leaders to gain many political points.

"However, when they sit down at the negotiating table, each leader will understand how advantageous it is to remain in the Union," the Vice President stressed.

The decision of the European Council regarding Ukraine

On December 14, during the summit, leaders of the European Union countries approved the opening of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the bloc.

This happened against the backdrop of concerns that Hungary might block the decision by imposing a veto. The EU leaders' negotiations lasted for more than three hours, and the start of the summit was delayed due to Budapest's position. However, at the time of the vote, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán left the room, so the decision was unanimously adopted.

For more details on what awaits Ukraine next, you can refer to the material by RBC-Ukraine.