After the visit of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen Ukrainian president waits in Kiev Volodimir Zelensky with EU accession negotiations starting later this year. “Today I heard positive signals from the President of the European Commission about our progress towards starting negotiations,” Zelensky said in his evening video message broadcast on Saturday.
decision in December
Von der Leyen had already certified successes for Ukraine, which has been defending itself from the Russian war of aggression for more than 20 months. EU heads of state and government are expected to decide on the start of accession negotiations in December. In his speech, Zelensky emphasized that Ukrainians should get used to EU integration. The time is approaching when the Ukrainian flag will fly in Brussels with the flags of other EU states. “I would like to thank President von der Leyen for her strong and fundamental support.”
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This is not about the EU saying anything to Ukraine, Zelensky emphasized, in view of the fight against corruption that Brussels has repeatedly called for. “The transformation of our country is something that we ourselves need,” he said. Despite the war, Ukraine received EU candidate status at record speed and has now created the conditions for the start of accession negotiations.
Ukraine well on its way to membership
Von der Leyen wants to present the EU’s progress report on Ukraine this Wednesday. Ukraine has reached many milestones on the path to joining the European Union, as desired by Kiev. Von der Leyen mentioned reforming the judicial system, reducing the influence of oligarchs and combating money laundering. She arrived on Saturday morning for her sixth visit to the country since the Russian attack began on February 24, 2022.