Ukraine expects to implement EU candidacy requirements by the end of the year
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said that Ukraine expected to implement the European Commission recommendations on granting EU candidate status by the end of the year.
She stated this on Wednesday at a briefing at the Ukraine Media Center, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
"We expect that by the end of the year, all these steps will be implemented. I think we can implement most of them even faster. This concerns certain legislation and the implementation of technical tasks," said Stefanishyna.
She reminded that at the end of the year, the European Commission would prepare conclusions and assess how effectively Ukraine has managed to implement the recommendations.
"It is in our interests because we want to talk about starting negotiations," she said, adding that Ukraine "will not give its EU candidate status to anyone."
Earlier, Stefanishyna noted that by the end of the week, the Ukrainian government would form a vision of reforms needed to meet the requirements of the European Commission to preserve Kyiv's EU candidate status. It will include appointing the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.
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The European Commission, in its conclusion on Ukraine's eligibility for the candidacy, proposes that the EU has the right to revoke this status if Ukraine violates its obligations.
Among other things, to maintain the candidate status, Kyiv must complete the appointment of the head of the SAPO, hold a competition for the NACB head, etc.
According to the draft decision, the EU leaders at the summit in Brussels on June 23-24 will approve the European Commission recommendation on granting Ukraine and Moldova the EU candidate status.
On June 17, the European Commission released conclusions on Ukraine's, Moldova's, and Georgia's applications for EU membership, recommending that the first two be granted candidate status.
At the same time, Ukraine has been prescribed seven requirements that it must meet not to lose its new status and move to the next stage of the procedure.
