The EU is expected to recognize the country’s progress towards membership at the upcoming EU-Ukraine summit, but member states remain divided over the pace of the accession process. This emerges from a draft of the final work, which is available to EURACTIV.
Nearly a year after the Russian invasion began, several EU leaders plan to travel to Kiev later this week for talks to send a show of solidarity, encouraging Kiev to continue with the reforms needed for eventual EU membership.
EU Council President Charles Michel, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell are due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.
According to the draft final communiqué, the EU and Ukraine will reaffirm that “the future of Ukraine and its citizens lies in the European Union” and that “the EU is committed to supporting the European integration of Ukraine”.
The EU “recognizes the significant progress that Ukraine has made in recent months towards meeting the objectives underpinning its status as a candidate for EU membership,” reads the draft communiqué in its current form.
“Welcomes Ukraine’s reform efforts in such difficult times and encourages the country to continue on this path and to fulfill the conditions set out in the Commission’s opinion on its application for membership, in order to move towards future EU membership.” the document.
Ukraine goes on the offensive when it comes to EU membership
Ukraine has launched a “charm offensive” in recent weeks to persuade ever-skeptical EU governments to grant the country EU candidate status and not be grouped with the other two candidates, Moldova and Georgia.
Alongside this commitment to EU membership, progress is also expected in areas such as duty-free access to the EU’s internal market for Ukrainian exports, access to the EU’s free roaming zone and inclusion in the Single Euro Payments Area.
Both parties also intend to sign a memorandum of understanding on a strategic partnership in the field of renewable energies.
The EU Commission has not yet published an agenda for consultations between the Commission and the Ukrainian government, but it can be assumed that Ukraine’s financing and reconstruction, the country’s application for EU membership and possible new sanctions on Russia will be discussed. .
Reduce expectations of quick adherence
Despite the message of solidarity that the summit intends to transmit, it will also be a matter of keeping expectations under control, according to diplomatic circles.
EU ambassadors are expected to reach agreement on the final version of the summit communique on Wednesday (January 31).
According to inside sources, member states have not been unanimous in recent weeks on the wording of the accession process.
Poland, the three Baltic states and Ukraine pushed for wording that would signal to Kyiv that the application for membership could be fast-tracked.
“What we expect from the summit is encouragement for Ukraine and a clear assessment of the progress it has made,” an eastern European diplomat told EURACTIV.
“While it’s just a statement, words matter, which is why we are pushing for a more encouraging version of the text,” he added.
The European Commission in June approved the granting of EU candidate status to Ukraine, on condition that Kyiv takes a series of legislative and policy measures known as the seven recommendations.
These recommendations included passing a law on a competitive selection process for the country’s constitutional judges, strengthening anti-corruption measures, aligning media regulations with EU standards, and protecting national minorities.
As Kyiv has pushed forward with reforms in recent months, Ukrainian leaders have expressed hope that their country could join the EU in the near future, possibly even within the next two years.
But despite last summer’s decision to grant candidate status to Kyiv, Ukraine’s prospects of joining any time soon remain slim.
“Many large member states will not accept overly positive wording – not least because the agreed wording is only a month old, leaving no one ready to resume a difficult discussion that we have just concluded,” EU diplomatic sources told EURACTIV.
Germany under the brakes
Several sources confirmed that the wording of the draft declaration was “too forward-looking” for some more skeptical Member States. Resistance is expected from Germany, France, Spain, Holland, Portugal, Denmark and Belgium.
French President Emmanuel Macron said last year it could be “decades” before Ukraine could join the European Union, while even EU countries, which are the strongest supporters, admit Kyiv may have a brighter path. long ahead.
Skeptical states consider the reference to “significant progress” premature and “anticipate normal steps in the accession process”, as no official assessment of Ukraine’s progress has yet been presented.
They preferred to stick to the wording used at the June European Council and the agreed process whereby the European Commission would take stock of Ukraine’s progress in fulfilling the seven requirements set by the EU for opening accession negotiations.
This update would complement the regular assessment as part of the Commission’s annual enlargement package, which is regularly published in October and to which further recommendations are likely to be added.
In private conversations, EU officials handling the dossier noted that Ukraine had made good progress in passing a new media law and nominating key candidates for the specialized anti-corruption prosecutor’s office.
“Considering that it is a country at war, Ukraine has really made great efforts to meet the requirements of the enlargement process,” EU officials told EURACTIV.
While Ukraine has announced a reform of the Constitutional Court and the modalities for appointing judges, the Venice Commission is still concerned about the powers and composition of the Expert Advisory Group, the body that selects candidates for the court.
“The gap in the rule of law and alignment of the judiciary and the fight against corruption remains, with some reforms likely to need further alignment with EU law,” he said.
To that end, the summit’s draft declaration aims to assert that “the reform of the Constitutional Court and the process of selecting qualified and politically independent constitutional judges remain crucial to strengthening Ukraine’s resilience”.
[Bearbeitet von Alice Taylor]