The Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine plans to join the European Union (EU) in two years.
He told about this in an interview with Politico.
"We have a very ambitious plan to join the European Union within the next two years. So we expect that this year, in 2023, we can already have this pre-accession stage of negotiations," he noted.
The prime minister also said that Ukraine is expecting a significant leap forward this Friday — the "Ukraine-EU" summit will be held on February 3. According to Shmyhal, progress is expected in the issues of visa-free regime for industrial goods, the suspension of customs duties on Ukrainian exports for another year, and the signing of a number of important agreements.
In addition, Shmyhal announced changes to the law on the procedure for selecting candidates for the post of judge of the Constitutional Court, which was criticized by the Venice Commission. The government is ready to review the recently adopted legislation before the start of the summit and is already consulting with the European Commission.
- In June 2022, Ukraine received the status of a candidate for joining the EU. The French president said that "decades" may pass before Ukraine joins the EU.
- On December 13, 2022, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) supported draft law No. 7662 on the selection of judges to the Constitutional Court without an amendment on the number of members of the Advisory Group of Experts, which selects candidates for the position of judges. The Venice Commission saw in this the risks of political interference. On December 19, she published an updated opinion on the draft law, recommending changes proposed by experts in the field of judicial reform. Despite this, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the law.
- This law is one of the requirements of the European Union for the start of accession negotiations.