The European Union has begun the negotiation process on Ukraine’s accession: what’s next?

The decision of the European Council to begin the negotiation process with Ukraine on accession to the European Union is an important step towards full Ukrainian membership in the bloc. What next awaits Ukraine and how quickly it will become a member of the EU, he told Фокус.

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Ukraine has a long way to go, during which its state institutions will need to agree on a number of standards with the European Union in order to gain EU membership.

Negotiation frame

Now Kyiv and Brussels will have to form a negotiating framework that will determine the procedure for negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. It is expected that work on the frame will begin immediately, and it will be approved in March next year.

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Deputy Prime Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olga Stefanishyna said that Ukraine will begin negotiations on the next steps of joining the EU on December 18.

“I want to assure you that literally 15 minutes after the decision was made, I received a call from the European Commission. Already on Monday, December 18, we will begin negotiations on the next steps,” she said.

It is expected that the negotiating framework will be approved in March 2024, when the European Commission will review the state of reforms in Ukraine, primarily in judicial reform and anti-corruption activities. Today, another recommendation of the European Commission remains unfulfilled, which concerns the regulation of lobbying activities.

“The report will be published in March, and on its basis we will make a decision in March,” European Council President Charles Michel told reporters.

Acquis communautaire

The next step for Ukraine will be to harmonize its legislation with EU law within several years. The system of legal documents of the European Union called acquis communautaire, which has 35 chapters, is responsible for this.

The European Commission has already begun monitoring the progress of Ukrainian legislation towards harmonization with EU legislation on the chapters of the acquis.

Issues that are addressed in the 35 sections of the acquis communautaire relate to procurement, corporate law, monetary policy, judicial proceedings and law enforcement, anti-corruption, culture and the like.

At the same time, for each country with which accession negotiations are ongoing, a separate negotiation framework is developed each time. Observers admit that certain points on the path to membership may be simplified for Ukraine.

When will Ukraine become a member of the EU?

Negotiating processes for accession to the EU are unique for each of the candidate countries. How quickly negotiations between Brussels and Kiev will take place will depend on the pace of adoption of relevant legislation by the Ukrainian parliament, as well as the implementation of all necessary reforms.

At the same time, progress on each of the points must be approved by all EU countries. And in order to finally complete the negotiation process with Ukraine, the European Parliament must have its say.

In addition, the decision on membership will depend on ratifications in the parliaments of all 27 EU countries.

If we talk about specific dates, then in October of this year, President of the European Council Charles Michel stated that Ukraine could join the European Union in 2030 if all the necessary conditions are met.

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“Yes, Ukraine can become a member of the EU in 2030 if both sides do their homework,” Michel said.

At the same time, the European Union's representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Josep Borrell, said that 2030 is only a “political horizon.”

“It’s good to have a goal, it’s good to have a horizon. This is the political horizon. The purpose of a fixed date is to mobilize political energy to start moving. This does not mean that this will be an exact date,” he noted.

Borrell stressed that Ukraine has “pushed” the queue of countries that are waiting to join the EU. And, as the head of European diplomacy assured, this “queue will move, and we will move faster.”

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