Will EU start accession talks with Ukraine in June: Ambassador's assessment
Katarina Mathernova, Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
The notion that Ukraine's accession process to the European Union has dragged on is not entirely fair. Negotiations on Eurointegration could likely commence in June, according to EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova.
As the ambassador noted, Ukraine is moving in the right direction. She believes that official negotiations on Eurointegration could potentially kick off in June.
Mathernova said that describing the process as "dragging on" is not entirely accurate. According to her, considering the overall concept of bloc expansion, Ukraine's progress is quite rapid. She reminded that just four days after the start of full-scale war, Kyiv submitted its application for EU membership. Within three months, Ukraine gained candidate status, and in 2023, received the green light for accession negotiations.
"So, I consider this momentum very positive. And I don't see any discrepancy between political signals and the likely start of the process in June. It will be very disappointing if we don't start this process in June, but I sincerely hope that everything will be fine," explained the ambassador.
Ukraine's EU accession
Currently, officials express varying opinions on the timeline for Ukraine's accession to the EU. For instance, European Council President Charles Michel believes this could happen as early as 2030.
In the fall of 2023, the European Commission recommended starting official negotiations on Eurointegration with Ukraine and Moldova. In December, the European Council supported the initiation of dialogue.
Recently, official negotiation frameworks for Ukraine and Moldova were also presented.
