April 18 – Ukraine has completed a questionnaire that will provide a starting point for the European Union to decide on Kyiv’s membership, said Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen handed the questionnaire to Zelenskyy during her visit to Kyiv on April 8, promising a faster start to Ukraine’s bid for EU membership after Russia’s invasion of the country. Continue reading
“Today I can say that the document has been finalized by the Ukrainian side,” Zhovkva told the Ukrainian public broadcaster on Sunday evening.
The European Commission must issue a recommendation on Ukraine’s fulfillment of the necessary accession criteria, he added.
“We expect the recommendation to be … positive, and then the ball will be in the hands of the EU Member States.”
Zhovkva added that Ukraine expects to gain candidate country status for EU membership in June during a scheduled European Council meeting.
The European Council is scheduled to meet on June 23-24, according to the Council’s timetable on its website.
“Next we need to start accession talks. And once we have these talks, we can already talk about Ukraine’s full membership of the EU,” Zhovkva said.
Reporting in Melbourne by Lidia Kelly; Adaptation by Stephen Coates