EU will give Ukraine “positive signal” about accession to union – German foreign minister

During the EU summit in December of this year, Ukraine is likely to receive a positive signal from the member states of the European Union.

Rubryka reports, citing the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Annalena Baerbock, during the conference on the enlargement of the European Union.

"The heart of Europe beats in Kyiv… We want to see Ukraine as a member of our Union. And I am confident that the European Council will send this signal this December," Baerbock said.

During the summit of the European Union, the leaders are expected to consider the possible start of negotiations with Ukraine on its integration into the bloc.

This will happen based on the European Commission's assessment of Kyiv fulfilling candidate criteria, which will be made public on November 8.

The German minister said the movement to the EU required a lot of effort from the candidate countries, and she understood how complicated this process was for Ukraine amid the war.

"That is why it is so important to say… that we will accompany you on this path financially, structurally, materially," she added.

As reported, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, went to Berlin for a ministerial conference on the future of the European Union and Ukraine's accession.

What we know about Ukraine's accession to the EU

In July, in Vilnius, President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the possibility of starting negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the EU at the end of the year.

The European Union recognized Ukraine and Moldova as official candidate countries shortly after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated that if Ukraine maintains the current pace of reforms, it can quickly achieve success and join the European Union.

As Rubryka reported, on the 500th day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ursula von der Leyen assured that the EU would continue to support Kyiv.

EU leaders should decide on the official opening of negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova at the December summit after analyzing the report of the European Commission.

On November 8, the European Commission will provide an assessment of Ukraine's progress on the way to EU membership in its annual report. Most likely, it will be positive, but additional conditions may be put forward to Kyiv.

Recently, President Zelensky said that this decision could be the strongest in a decade: Ukraine is waiting for negotiations.