Ukraine has already completed the form to be recognized as a candidate country to join the European Union (EU)reports the Ukrinform portal, citing sources close to the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
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With this, the steps and deadlines set by the President of the European Commission (EC) were followed.Ursula von der Leyen, continues this source, who recalls the recent visit of the German politician to kyiv, where she met with Zelensky.
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The delivery of the form was formalized by the Ukrainian president himself, in a meeting with the EU ambassador to his country, Matti Maasikas.
Zelenski stressed at that meeting that his country’s entry into the EU “represents the aspirations for which our people are fighting,” said the news portal.
The president pointed out that his country’s progress towards the community bloc “occurs at a very tragic moment, in which many Ukrainians are losing their lives for their ideals.”
The objective is “to be part of Europe, among equals”, he added.
Maasikas, for his part, assured the Ukrainian president that “everyone in the EU feels the importance and significance” of this step, in the midst of the “difficult situation” in Ukraine.
“In extraordinary times, extraordinary steps must be taken and at extraordinary speed”, expressed the EU representative, through his twitter account.
The Ukrainian authorities now expect “a positive response” to the request from Brussels, according to presidential sources to the aforementioned national news portal.
kyiv hopes that the request will be addressed at the next EU summit, between June 23 and 24, and that the status of an applicant to join the community bloc will be recognized. Von der Leyen met with Zelensky in kyiv on April 8.
There he gave the Ukrainian leader the aforementioned form, with the commitment to process it, once completed, throughout the following week.
The prompt response of the EU
The executive branch of the European Union wants to deliver its opinion on Ukraine’s candidacy to join the bloc in Junewhich would pave the way for a potential decision by leaders to be known later that month, according to people familiar with the matter.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen handed a membership questionnaire to Ukraine’s President Volodimir Zelensky when she visited kyiv earlier this month.
Ukraine provided its first round of answers the following week and is already working on the next set of questions, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration said on Monday.
The move could complicate efforts to reach a diplomatic solution, as Russia has frequently cited kyiv’s decision to forge closer ties with the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as one of the reasons for his invasion of Ukraine.
Membership of the EU includes the obligation to help other Member States that are victims of armed aggression. Ukraine has previously said it is open to discussing Russia’s demand not to join NATO and for neutrality as long as it is given security guarantees.
The commission was reviewing paperwork in order to provide its assessment ahead of a leaders’ meeting on June 23-24, when they could discuss granting Ukraine candidate status, said the people, who asked not to be identified because of because the process is private.
We will do it as diligently and quickly as we can.
Normally, the Commission takes between 15 and 18 months to issue an opinion on the status of applications, according to an EU official. That status, if granted, would formally start the membership procedure.a process that includes an arduous set of steps and conditions that can normally take more than a decade.
Croatia was the last country to join the bloc and its application process lasted 10 years before it was formally accepted in 2013. “We will work diligently to present our opinion, but we will not offer a specific deadline,” Eric Mamer, a spokesman for the commission, told reporters on Tuesday.
The EU must not now engage in formal procedural discussions, it must send a political signal.
Several member states, including the Netherlands, had previously resisted giving Ukraine a fast-track procedure and backing for its membership candidacy, but many others have pushed to grant kyiv candidate status as quickly as possible given the extraordinary circumstances.
Von der Leyen has repeatedly said that Ukraine belongs to the European family. The European Parliament has been an outspoken supporter of Ukraine’s membership bid.
“Ukrainians are now waiting for a clear signal: a yes to candidate status, and to do it immediately,” Manfred Weber, leader of the European People’s Party (EPP), told German media group Funke on Tuesday.
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*With information from EFE and Bloomberg
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