EU Vice-President: Ukraine's EU accession will be a multi-year process
The process of Ukraine joining the European Union may take several years.
The Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, stated this, according to novinky.cz.
"I would assume that we are talking about several years. Procedurally, the countries closest to the EU are Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Albania, with which accession negotiations have already begun. However, the EU will definitely not be joined by any countries this year, so the negotiations will not proceed so quickly", she said.
According to her, the idea of "full membership or no membership" is no longer relevant.
"We have identified several areas in which the candidate countries can become closer to the EU without being its members. States can establish digital interaction with the EU, energy, and transport infrastructure, we can recognize each other's qualifications, and the candidate country can gain access to the European market, albeit with limitations. Ukraine can get all this even before it becomes a member country," Věra Jourová stressed.
She added that anti-European rhetoric will make it possible to score many political points.
"However, when they later sit down at the negotiating table, each leader will make it clear how beneficial it is to stay in the Union," the vice president emphasized.
For reference:
On November 8, the EU Commission officially recommended the states start negotiations on Ukraine's accession.
The EU leaders greenlighted the process of negotiations on Ukraine and Moldova's accession to the bloc, Charles Michel reported on Thursday. At the same time, they failed to reach a consensus and adopt amendments to the EU's 2024-2027 multiannual budget, which included, among other things, the creation of a €50 billion Ukraine Fund to provide budgetary support to Ukraine during the war and to create conditions for its post-war recovery. European leaders postponed consideration of this issue until early next year.
