Ukraine deserves the status of a candidate member of the European Union - a historic decision was announced today by the European Commission, which analyzed how ready Ukraine is for the candidacy, and finally approved it in favor of Kyiv.
A truly historic day for Ukraine, since it received much more than it could count before February 24 - the date that, in fact, divided the life of the whole country into “before” and “after,” Radio Liberty correspondent Zoryana Stepanenko notes for TSN.
If earlier officials from the EU limited themselves to political statements that Ukraine belongs to the European family, today, repeating this again several times, they have gone much further: they officially recognized the European perspective of Ukraine and recommend granting it the status of a candidate member of the European Union.
Ukrainians are now shedding blood not only for the future of their country, but also for Europe and its values \u200b\u200b- they understand this here. And they know that Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective. Therefore, they want them to live - together with Europe they are united by the European dream, - said the President of the European Commission. At the same time, they note that they made their decision not because of the war, because the journalists separately specified this particular aspect.. And because Ukraine has already come a long way in the development of democratic institutions, has moved forward with economic reforms, separately and extensively, they praised the merits in the field of digitalization. So, after analyzing all the achievements, decisions, we approved the corresponding.
“We have a clear message: Yes! Ukraine deserves a European perspective. Yes! We welcome Ukraine as a candidate. This is for everyone to understand: she has already done a lot of work. However, there is still important work to be done.. Then everything is in the hands of Ukraine. It is up to her to decide how best to shape her future,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
Until recently, it remained an intrigue whether the European Commission would recommend granting candidate status to Ukraine in its purest form, whether Ukraine would fulfill certain conditions before receiving it.. The compromise conclusion was the one that we heard, but the conditions on which, in particular, the Netherlands and Denmark insisted, are still put forward at the next stage.. Seven points must be fulfilled by Ukraine, otherwise accession negotiations will not start. There are reforms in the judiciary, the fight against corruption, anti-oligarchic legislation, the adoption of laws on the protection of national minorities - Radio Liberty sources in EU diplomatic circles say that the European Commissioner from Hungary insisted on the point on national minorities.
" They emphasized it clearly and loudly. EU membership is believed to bring them peace, stability and prosperity in the long run. Today is the day when we make our proposal - further decisions are up to the leaders,"
In less than a week, the leaders will announce their will, who will officially assign the status of a candidate to Ukraine. With the support of the leaders of the leading countries of the world, she has already become engaged. In Denmark, which hesitated, today said that they would clearly follow the conclusion of the European Commission, and they said “yes” to Ukraine. Green light is also given to Moldova, it is also recommended to grant candidate status. But Georgia was refused - recent events, they say, undermine its progress in the development of democracy.