Commission presents report: is Ukraine now turning on the EU turbo?

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Corruption at the highest level, shortcomings in the rule of law and questionable treatment of national minorities: at the beginning of 2022, it still seemed unthinkable that Ukraine would become a serious candidate for EU accession in the near future.

More than twenty months after the start of Russia’s war of aggression against the Eastern European country, the world looks different. After Ukraine was granted the status of a candidate country in June 2022, the European Commission will present a long-awaited report this Wednesday on the country’s latest progress on its path to the European Union.

When EU countries granted Ukraine candidate status last year, they also agreed that the next step in the accession process could only be taken after seven reform requirements had been met. Ursula von der Leyen’s European Commission report now assesses how far Ukraine has come with reforms so far.

That would be the start of the accession negotiations. These negotiations ensure that a candidate country integrates all EU legislation into national law.

The EU is demanding from Ukraine, among other things, a stronger fight against corruption, compliance with standards in the fight against money laundering and a law against the excessive influence of oligarchs. For example, it is also about media freedom and the protection of national minorities.

According to information from the German news agency, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will give a positive assessment of the progress of reforms in the country and officially recommend that the governments of the EU countries begin accession negotiations.

Accordingly, the European Commission assumes that the remaining reform measures can be completed by Ukraine in a short time and that this is not a reason to postpone the fundamental decision on the start of accession negotiations. The approval of the heads of state and government of the EU countries could therefore take place during the EU summit on December 14 and 15, as the government in Kiev had hoped.

In order to ensure that Ukraine checks off the outstanding conditions, it would probably be agreed to make further necessary decisions for the negotiations dependent on this. The formal start of negotiations in the context of the first accession conference may therefore take a long time.

During a visit to Kiev last weekend, Von der Leyen called for an even stronger fight against corruption and the adoption of the new law on lobbying activities. She also called for the strengthening of regulations on the declaration of assets and the full implementation of recommendations for the protection of national minorities.

The latter point is important for EU country Hungary, for example. For example, the government in Budapest has in the past been of the opinion that Ukraine is violating the rights of the Hungarian ethnic minority in the Zakarpattia region – for example through an education law that only allows school lessons in the minority languages ​​to a limited extent.

If Ukraine fails to implement reforms, it risks vetoes. All relevant decisions on the accession process require unanimity among EU countries.

Both parties want to show the more than forty million Ukrainians that they have the prospect of becoming EU citizens. The start of accession negotiations could also be a sign that freedom and democracy are worth fighting for. “You are not only fighting for your own freedom, democracy and future, but also for ours,” Von der Leyen recently told the Ukrainian people.

No one can predict that. Turkey, for example, became a candidate for the EU in 1999 – and has probably never been as far away from membership as it is now. Theoretically, a candidate for membership can never become a member.

Probably a double-edged one. On the one hand, without the war, Ukraine would probably never have achieved candidate country status so quickly. On the other hand, the war is likely to complicate the necessary adjustment processes. Moreover, it is considered impossible for Ukraine to become a member of the EU before the end of the war. Kiev could then demand military assistance from other EU countries, in accordance with Article 42, Paragraph 7 of the EU Treaty – the EU would officially be a party to the war. (SDA)

Source: Blick