Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Olga Stefanishina, expressed her hope that in June 2022, at the summit of European Union leaders, Ukraine could become a candidate for membership.
“We hope that at the summit of European Union leaders in June this year, Ukraine will become a candidate for membership, and this process will open up new political horizons, but above all financial horizons for us,” he said, according to the Interfax news agency.
In fact, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, promised this Friday from Kiev, where she met with President Volodymir Zelensky, to accelerate the country's accession to the European Union.
“We will speed up this process as much as we can, while ensuring that all conditions are respected,” said Von der Leyen after handing over the accession questionnaire to the Ukrainian president.
This document is the centerpiece of the opinion drawn up by the European Executive to give its opinion on the options of a candidate country to join the community club. “This is where the road to the EU begins. We will be at your disposal 24 hours a day, seven days a week to work with this common base,” he told the Ukrainian president.
The lengthy enlargement process is not the only obstacle to Ukraine's aspiration to enter on the fast track, as within the EU there are Member States that are reluctant to expedite merit-based procedures.
Another element in the equation is the situation of the Balkan countries, which have been embarking on the process of joining the EU for more than a decade and without any signs of being able to access the bloc in the short term.
PARTICIPATION IN THE OSCE
On the other hand, due to the latest attack on a train station in the city of Kramatorsk, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dimitro Kuleba, assured on his official Twitter profile that “Russia's aggression and unjustified atrocities shattered the foundations of the Helsinki final act.”
“Russia's participation in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is a threat to security and cooperation in Europe. If the OSCE lacks appropriate suspension mechanisms, establish a procedure and remove them,” he demanded.
Earlier this week, the OSCE Special Observation Mission (SMM) in Ukraine completed the temporary evacuation of all its international members, according to a statement published on the agency's website.
“With the completion of this temporary evacuation, information activities are suspended, but facilities and assets are preserved in anticipation of a return to operations in Ukraine,” he said on Thursday.
(With information from Europa Press)
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