EU leaders came to Ukraine, but did not bring with them a promise that the war-weary country would soon be able to join European unification.
During the two-day summit in Kyiv, Brussels is expected to “cool down” Ukrainian hopes for an early entry into the European Union.. Politico writes about this with reference to the draft final statement, which was in the hands of the journalists of the publication.. The document does not mention the ambitious deadlines set by Ukraine. Politico recalls that Prime Minister Denis Shmigal, during an interview, spoke about Kyiv's desire to achieve EU membership in two years.. At the same time, the draft final statement contains vague assurances that the process will move forward once all EU-defined requirements are met..
“The EU will decide on further steps when all the conditions determined by the assessment of the European Commission are met. Ukraine stressed its determination to fulfill all the necessary requirements in order to start accession negotiations as soon as possible,” the document says..
The wording is in line with the positions of some EU countries that oppose making excessive promises to Ukraine regarding membership.. Although Kyiv would like to deal with this issue at the summit, several EU diplomats and officials said. The national leaders of the participating countries will not come to the summit tomorrow. However, European Council officials kept in touch with the Union countries regarding the final communique.. In June last year, EU leaders granted Ukraine the formal status of a candidate country in record time.. But taking that step was much easier than quickly pushing Kyiv through the grueling negotiations needed to equalize candidate countries with rigid EU rules and systems.. This process usually takes years and often stops for long periods..
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However, the participating countries still disagree on how quickly the union should get Ukraine through the accession process..
“There has been tension between Poland and the Baltic countries on the one hand and other EU countries regarding accession rhetoric,” an unnamed EU official told the publication..
He also added that the tension between the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen is also exacerbating the debate..
“They are trying to outdo each other in front of the Ukrainians,” the official said..
However, even though there will be no big breakthrough in the issue of Ukraine's accession to the EU, Brussels still wants to demonstrate strong solidarity with the Ukrainians in other matters..
“The fact that we are holding a summit in a country that is at war is already serious,” an unnamed EU official said ahead of the meeting in Kyiv..
Politico writes that there will be serious progress in some cases. For example, this concerns an agreement on a visa-free regime for industrial goods, the abolition of customs duties for Ukrainian exports for another year, the movement towards Ukraine's accession to the EU payment scheme, which will facilitate euro transfers, as well as Ukraine's integration into the EU free roaming zone.. Also on the agenda of the summit will be the 10-point peace plan of Volodymyr Zelensky, issues of restoring Ukraine, food security problems..
The EU intends to announce an additional 25 million euros in humanitarian aid, which will be used to eliminate Russian mines in the country.
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The draft final statement also notes the need for a " In particular, the need to reform the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is emphasized.. Kyiv recently announced some changes in the judicial sphere. In particular, they concern how judges are appointed. But the Venice Commission is still concerned about the composition and powers of the body that selects candidates for judges.