Ukraine’s bid to join the EU candidature has been under consideration and has received a green signal from the EU members as well. Soon after Russia declared war on Ukraine, Ukraine applied for membership. However, the road to full acceptance and lengthy procedures could take decades in Ukraine.
In last week’s visit to Kyiv, France, Germany, and Italy made an official statement that they support Ukraine’s immediate candidate status. The EU members will discuss Ukraine’s accession at the summit to be held in Brussels.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed this initiative as a historic move and applauded the EU leaders. He hinted, saying on social media that this step could bring victory closer for the country. According to some analysts, this move could eliminate the existential threat and reduce geopolitical vulnerability for Ukraine. Ukraine had been longing for this membership, but this strategic response by the great leaders has speeded up the process. It is expecting a positive review from the other members as well.
There may have been more pressure on the EU administration to start the long-awaited procedure to expedite the process due to the mounting number of civilian casualties from the conflict in Ukraine.
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What can be expected from the meeting?
A two-day summit that is to be held in Brussels is expected to bring some fruitful conclusions. According to the EU officials’ statement, all 27 member countries are expected to approve the recommendation for Ukraine’s candidature. Although membership will be granted as the first step, In the process, The negotiations will start once the membership is granted to Ukraine is initiated.
However, Ukraine is expected to fulfill certain conditions by the EU members that need reformation and restructuring. Before moving on to official admission negotiations, the EU is expected to place conditions on Ukraine regarding, among other things, judicial reforms and combating corruption. But the real procedure can take up to a year.
Ukraine’s proposal for membership in the queue of other countries like Albania, Moldova, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia who applied for accession to the EU way earlier than Ukraine is expected to be addressed in the meeting. These nations are said to be further in the process of acquiring membership. Georgia, which applied for membership, followed by Ukraine, was turned down by the EU officials. Certainly, it appears to be advised that it must make additional revisions before it can become a candidate. However, there’s a chance that Albania and Macedonia are close to acquiring candidate status.
“The real integration process will start when the war is over.” It will take some time, and we are talking about months, not years, to get to the next stage”. Vsevolod Chentsov
Ukrainian ambassador to the EU
According to reports by the BBC, Mr. Chentsov has insisted some reforms can take place even while the country is at war and not in control of its whole territory.
What Ukraine expects
Ukrainian officials are fairly confident in their inclusion in the EU and stated their complete confidence in all 27 members to endorse their plan during the two-day meet. Countries that had been skeptical about commencing accession discussions with Ukraine while it is battling Russia’s invasion are now supportive – named the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark.
The decision to grant Ukraine official “candidate” status could start a years-long process toward joining the union. It is anticipated that the decision will be formalized at the forthcoming summit on June 23–24. Though there are a lot of hurdles on the way to getting into the candidature many imperatives are yet to be filled by the Ukrainians before that.
