But the commission’s green light comes with conditions, and it must be approved unanimously by the 27 member states of the European Union before the start of long and arduous negotiations.
The Commission had not previously decided on a nomination request so quickly, which has become an urgent issue, due to the war that Russia has been waging for nearly 4 months, and this recommendation is part of the support provided by the Europeans to Ukraine in the face of Russia.
During a visit to Kyiv, on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron, who was accompanied by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, said that Paris, Berlin and Rome support granting Ukraine the status of an official candidate country “immediately”.
Commenting on this recommendation and what it will entail regarding Ukraine’s membership file in the European Union, Khalil Azima, an academic and researcher expert in Ukrainian affairs, said in an interview with “Sky News Arabia”: “Although this European Commission decision is very bold and important with regard to Kyiv’s membership in the European Union.” However, due to the lack of a unified European position on Ukraine, it is clear that this recommendation will often collide with talk about the need to implement the requirements and conditions for accession to the European Union.
He added: “Ukraine is now not eligible to join and it has to carry out reforms and fight corruption and other requirements and criteria for accession, and therefore we may be facing a repetition of the same scenario of procrastination in joining NATO.”
“According to many European statements over the past period, many European decision-making centers confirm that Ukraine’s accession to the European system requires many years,” Azima said.
The expert on Ukrainian affairs stated: “I think that the European Union will procrastinate on the issue of actually taking the decision and translating this recommendation in a concrete manner, pending the results of the war on Ukraine and the arrangements after it, meaning in what way it will end and how Ukraine will be after the war. If it insists, it will be united and then it can be Consider its accession, either if it does not win and a peace agreement is imposed on it to give up territory or partition Ukraine, then the western part of the European Union will be considered.
For his part, the head of the Al-Amsar Center for Strategic and Economic Studies, Raed Al-Azzawi, said in an interview with “Sky News Arabia”: “Regardless of this recommendation, which is not binding, of course, it is difficult and even impossible for the European Union to accept the membership of a country that is at war and consequently suffering from turmoil. Internal and external turmoil, in addition to the fact that Brussels believes that Ukraine is still very far from meeting and maintaining basic conditions for obtaining membership in the European Club, such as safeguarding freedoms such as freedom of opinion and expression and pluralism, and developing a dynamic economic environment that is more open, productive and competitive, and we should not forget that the absence of democratic and political stability And consequently, security is a seriously discouraging factor in assessing the application for Ukrainian membership.”
He continued, “The recommendation mostly represents leaving the door ajar, and it falls as moral support for Kiev, which has been in the midst of a fierce war with Moscow for months, rather than a practically applicable decision. The chances of this recommendation turning into an effective and binding European decision are almost non-existent, especially since it will be There are sharp divisions over Kyiv’s membership among the member states, between those who will consider this to plunge the European Union into a costly and protracted conflict with the Russians, and those who will defend it on the grounds that Ukraine, with its steadfastness against Russia, deserves such a lucrative reward.
Kyiv submitted its candidacy in late February after the start of the war, and since then Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not ceased to challenge the European Union to prove that “sayings about the belonging of the Ukrainian people to the European family are not empty talk.”
To become a candidate for EU membership, a country must fulfill a series of political (democracy, rule of law, protection of minorities), economic (viable market economy) criteria and a commitment to introducing the rules of European law.
Ukraine is essentially linked to the European Union by an association agreement that entered into force in September 2017.
The head of the European Commission, who has visited Ukraine twice, admitted that the country’s authorities “have done a lot” to prepare for her candidacy, but said there was still “much to do”, especially in terms of fighting corruption and respecting the rule of law.
Corruption is still rampant in Ukraine. In its 2021 report, the non-governmental organization Transparency International ranked the country 122nd out of 180 countries.
This is better than it was in 2014 when it was ranked 142nd, but it is still a long way from reaching the level of its neighbors in the European Union.
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