EU confirms terms of negotiation with Ukraine to be approved after implementation of European Commission recommendations

The European Council, in its decision on negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU, confirmed that the legal and technical aspects of the process, known as the negotiation framework, will only be approved after the European Commission's recommendations have been fully implemented. Source: European Pravda  Details: The conclusions of the EU summit on Ukraine and Moldova state that "the European Council invites the Council of the European Union to approve the relevant negotiating framework after the appropriate steps are taken, set out in the relevant recommendations of the Commission of 8 November 2023".

This means that before the start of negotiations, Ukraine must comply with all the recommendations of the European Commission, including those that it indicated in the November enlargement report.

Nearly all of these recommendations have been formally implemented by Ukraine; in particular, Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week signed laws pertaining to national minorities and bolstered the institutional capacity of anti-corruption bodies. Another recommendation that yet remains unfulfilled is the regulation of lobbying activities. The relevant government bill was just registered in the Ukrainian parliament.

In addition, the European Commission should give a positive assessment of the implementation of the recommendations, and additional adjustments are possible in the process of this assessment. In the most optimistic scenario, a negotiating framework for Ukraine could be approved in spring 2024 after EU leaders confirm that Kyiv has met all the European Commission's criteria. Background: Previously, it was reported that the leaders of the European Union at the summit in Brussels approved the recommendation of the European Commission to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova.

Although Hungary was threatening to block the decision for a long time, European leaders were able to overcome its veto by persuading Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to leave the room and abstain from the vote.

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