The admission of Ukraine as an official candidate for EU membership is an important political message. However, the journey to membership is a long one.
12:30 PM • Updated 1:42 PM
The EU Commission has discussed Ukraine’s bid to become a candidate country for the European Union. The President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyenin The Commission recommends that Ukraine formally become an EU candidate country.
– In the Commission’s view, Ukraine has clearly demonstrated its commitment to European values and standards. Ukraine began its journey towards the European Union even before the war. For eight years now, the country has moved closer to our Union, von der Leyen said.
On Twitter, von der Leyen put it more dramatically. “Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective. We want them to live with us the European dream,” von der Leyen’s tweet says.
According to Von der Leyen, Ukraine has already complied with 70% of the EU legal order. Fulfillment of the order is a prerequisite for membership.
Von der Leyen praised the Ukrainian administration for how well it has been able to keep the country afloat since the Russian invasion.
– Ukraine’s elections have proved to be fair and free, von der Leyen emphasized one of the key demands for the EU.
– Ukraine still has work to do with its rule of law system. For example, legislation on national minorities still needs to be put in place, he said.
Von der Leyen says he discussed the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyn and the Prime Minister of the country Denys Šmyhalin with a visit to Kiev ten days ago.
– President Zelensky told me that even if they did not apply for EU membership, they should do these reforms anyway, von der Leyen said.
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German Chancellor Olaf ScholzPresident of France Emmanuel Macron and the Prime Minister of Italy Mario Draghi expressed their support for Ukraine’s candidacy in the past.
– Ukraine belongs to the European family, Scholz said at a news conference after meeting with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyn.
– Ukraine is closer to the EU than ever before during its independence, Zelensky said in a video speech yesterday.
Ukraine’s formal candidacy at this stage is mainly of symbolic value, as the country is very far from the EU criteria in many respects. For example, according to Transparency International, Ukraine is the most corrupt country in the world, ranking 122th out of 180 countries.
– Ukraine has made progress in its anti-corruption work. The country should now appoint key officials in the sector, as the system is not yet fully operational. Ukraine’s starting level is poor, but the direction is right, von der Leyen said.