The EU has determined the date and time for the start of negotiations on Ukraineʼs accession

The Council of the European Union (EU) adopted the negotiating framework for the start of negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU.

This was announced by the Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Accession negotiations will start on June 25 in Luxembourg. An intergovernmental conference with Ukraine is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., and with Moldova for 6 p.m.

Back in March 2024, the European Commission prepared a negotiating framework for Ukraineʼs membership in the European Union. And already at the beginning of April, the European Commission recommended starting negotiations on Ukraineʼs accession to the European Union.

When will we become a member of the EU?

This will happen only after Ukraine fulfills all requirements and fully implements all European standards.

There are various examples in the history of EU enlargement. Finland applied in 1992, and already in 1995 it became a member of the European Union. Poland applied in 1994 and joined the EU 10 years later. The last country to join the European Union is Croatia. It applied in 2003 and became a new member of the EU in 2013.

There are also countries that still remain candidates for admission. These are four Balkan countries: Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. Turkey has the same status. But in all these countries the process is stalled. Turkey does not meet the requirements of the EU at all and shows no desire to join it. In Serbia, the majority of the population does not want to join the European Union, and the country has close ties with Russia. Albania has not even started negotiations on accession, and in Montenegro, with the change of government, the foreign policy orientation is also changing — sometimes towards the EU, then towards Serbia. North Macedonia is doing the most to join the European Union, but its progress is being blocked by its neighbors. First Greece demanded to change the name — and the Macedonians did it, now Bulgaria demands from North Macedonia to recognize that its people and language have Bulgarian roots and come from Bulgaria.

The most important thing is that after receiving candidate status, everything depends on the Ukrainian authorities. She received a clear list of reforms that must be implemented, and society has the opportunity to control this process. In addition, the status of a candidate means access to financial funds of the European Union — in fact, the EU itself will provide money for the implementation of reforms. One thing can be said for sure: the sooner Ukraine reforms, the sooner it can become a member of the EU.

• On June 23, 2023, Ukraine officially became a candidate for membership of the European Union. The European Commission has approved certain conditions that Ukraine must fulfill in order to start official accession negotiations.