European Commission Vice President: Ukraine's membership in EU is matter of years, not decades

Vera Jourova, Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, believes that the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU will not last for decades, although it will take some time. Source: Novinky, citing Jourova in an interview with Pravo, as reported by European Pravda. Quote: "I would rather say years," Jourova said, answering whether the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU is a matter of years or decades.

Jourova noted that Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Albania, the accession negotiations of which have begun, are the closest to the European Union accession. "However, this year, the Union will not enlarge by adding new countries, so the negotiations will not proceed quickly," said the European Commission Vice President.

"I am glad that the idea of 'full membership or no membership' is no longer applied. We have identified several areas where candidate countries can approach the Union without becoming its members. Countries can engage with the EU through digital, energy, and transport connections; we can recognise each other's qualifications, and a candidate country can gain access to the European market, albeit with restrictions.

Ukraine can obtain all of this even before becoming a member of the EU," Jourova noted. She also believes that from a moral standpoint, it would be very problematic to tell Ukraine to first resolve territorial issues and then talk about accession. "It is right that the efforts of Ukrainians go in two directions. On the one hand, these are extraordinary efforts aimed at winning the war, even though the resources on the Russian side are much greater, especially regarding human resources.

At the same time, Ukraine is doing incredible work in implementing the reforms it needs and desires in war conditions. So far, we have demanded the adoption of two anti-corruption laws, an anti-lobbying law, and a minority rights law. However, after the opening of accession negotiations, much more work will begin; all Ukrainian laws must be adapted to European legislation.

This is the beginning of a truly complex process, and Ukrainians are reporting that they are ready for it," Jourova explained.

Background:

• At the EU summit on 14 December, EU leaders supported the opening of negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.
• Although the decision on Kyiv had long been blocked by Hungary, its veto was overridden by persuading Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to leave the room during the vote and thus abstain from voting.
• Orban himself later claimed that he agreed to give up his veto right at the start of Ukraine's EU accession talks since he would have many more opportunities to block this process.

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