Ukraine hails 'historic step' as EU takes Kyiv closer to membership
World
Ukraine hails 'historic step' as EU takes Kyiv closer to membership
BRUSSELS/KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised as a "historic step" a recommendation by the European Union executive on Wednesday to invite Kyiv to begin membership talks as soon as it meets final conditions, even as it fights to repel Russia's war.
The recommendation by the European Commission is an important milestone on Kyiv's road to Western integration and a geo-political gambit for the EU as Ukraine has been fighting against a large-scale Russian invasion since February 2022.
The Commission said the talks should formally be launched once Kyiv satisfies remaining conditions related to reining in corruption, adopting a law on lobbying in line with EU standards and strengthening national minority safeguards.
"This is a strong and historic step that paves the way to a stronger EU with Ukraine as its member," Zelenskiy said on social media, vowing to press on with the necessary reforms.
The 27 national EU leaders are next due to decide mid-December on whether to accept the Commission's recommendation. Any such decision requires unanimity of the bloc's 27 members, with Hungary seen as the main potential obstacle.
If accepted, EU officials expect formal accession talks with Kyiv to start next year. Such negotiations take years before candidates meet extensive legal and economic criteria to join. The bloc is also wary of taking in a country at war.
"Ukraine continues to face tremendous hardship and tragedy provoked by Russia's war of aggression," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. "And yet, the Ukrainians are deeply reforming their country, even as they are fighting a war that is existential for them."
Hailing a "successful day", Zelenskiy told the Reuters NEXT conference in New York that his country had done a lot during the war to tackle corruption - a key criteria for joining the bloc - and pledged that the postwar-reconstruction of his country would be free from graft.
As well as the soldiers, our "reforms are also fighting with an old system" he said of his government's efforts to clamp down on corruption. Prior to the war, Ukraine was ranked by Transparency International as one of the most corrupt countries in Europe.
The European Commission's report on Wednesday showed that Kyiv met four out of seven conditions to start formal accession talks, though more were near completion. Von der Leyen said the Brussels-based Commission would reassess progress next March.
A top aide to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Budapest would not support Ukraine's EU integration unless Kyiv changes its laws on minorities, in particular as regards education.
