“Putin must fail. Ukraine must prevail. And we must help Ukraine rise from the ashes and be master of its own future.” The President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyendefended this Tuesday launching the negotiations for kyiv’s entry into the EU at end of June like a political signal of solidarity with the country, which is going through one of the most difficult moments since the start of the war due to the new Russian offensive in Kharkiv. The accession process will still take many years.
“Ukraine has complied with all the steps that we had set for them. And that is why we believe that the EU should start accession talks with Ukraine at the end of this month,” Von der Leyen said during the Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine held this Tuesday in Berlin. A meeting to which she also attended attended by the president Volodymyr Zelensky.
The EU granted Ukraine candidate country status in June 2022, while already in December 2023 he agreed to start negotiations for his entry into the community club. However, talks have not yet begun, waiting for the Twenty-Seven to complete their internal preparations and for kyiv to meet the last pending conditions.
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The Zelensky Government has done its part and has completed the last two pending requirements: complete the process of ‘de-oligarchization’ of the country and strengthen the protection of national minorities. This was communicated by the community Executive itself last week to the ambassadors of the 27 in Brussels. The next step is for the Member States to approve the negotiating framework with Ukraine (and also with Moldova) and launch the first intergovernmental conference, the format that brings together representatives of the EU and kyiv.
The Belgian presidency intends to launch the dialogue on June 25 on the sidelines of the General Affairs Council being held in Luxembourg. However, Hungary has already stated that it has “doubts” on Brussels’ assessment of kyiv’s work on reforms. Budapest (which has already vetoed multiple aid decisions for Ukraine) could derail the entire calendar, which requires unanimity. Viktor Orbán himself already abstained in December from the decision to start negotiations with Hungary, leaving the European Council room.
At the Berlin conference, Von der Leyen also announced the extension for an extra year (until March 2026) of the special protection regime in the EU for Ukrainian refugees. The formal decision will be adopted by the interior ministers of the 27 this Thursday in Luxembourg.
Finally, the president of the Commission has announced that in July the first disbursement worth 1,500 million euros from the Profits generated by Russian assets frozen in the EU. In addition, Brussels will execute another payment of 1.9 billion euros from the Ukraine Facility at the end of the month, which has a total endowment of 50 billion.
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