Next week, the European Commission will advise deciding on granting Ukraine candidate status.
This was reported by Bloomberg with reference to people who are familiar with this issue.
The recommendation, which is to be discussed and adopted by the EU College of Commissioners, will be accompanied by conditions related to the rule of law and anti-corruption legislation.
The blocʼs leaders are set to discuss the issue in Brussels on June 23-24, and several countries have said they oppose the move because "Ukraine cannot be preferred to existing candidates". The conclusion is expected to be adopted on June 17.
According to officials familiar with the talks, countries such as Poland, Lithuania and Ireland said at a meeting of EU ambassadors on Wednesday (June 8th) that they want EU leaders to decide on a clear outcome and grant candidate status. Germany said the result could be "conditional candidate status".
In a diplomatic note Bloomberg has in possession, Denmark said Ukraine did not meet the criteria for stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights, respect and protection of minorities. Kyiv needs to "fundamentally improve its legislative and institutional framework" in order to make progress in all these areas, the note said. Copenhagen sees "a very early stage" in Ukraineʼs readiness to commit to EU membership and create a market economy. The Netherlands also opposed granting Ukraine candidate status.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olga Stefanyshyna said that there are three main countries that do not want to give the green light to Ukraine in this matter, and there are two main countries that are actively trying to promote alternative ideas. In total, seven countries proposed a "hybrid" application format. They offered extra-candidacy or conditional candidacy.
- Candidate status, if granted, will formally begin the EU membership process. Croatia was the last country to join the bloc, and the process of applying for it took 10 years. It officially joined the bloc in 2013.
- On February 28, after the start of Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed an application for Ukraineʼs accession to the EU.
- On April 8, in Kyiv, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen presented the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky with a questionnaire on Ukraineʼs membership in the European Union. On May 9, Ukraine completed the second part of the questionnaire to obtain the status of a candidate for membership in the European Union.