Ukraine has the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen completed the questionnaire sent to the application for EU membership in agreement with the government. As deputy head of the Cabinet of President Volodymyr ZelenskyIhor Zhovkva, announced on Sunday (local time) in an interview on Ukrainian public television, the European Commission must now clarify whether Ukraine meets the membership criteria.
“We hope the recommendation is positive and then the ball will be in the hands of the EU member states,” Showkwa said, referring to the responsibilities of the 27 EU governments. These must unanimously decide on all steps related to the accession negotiations. Zelenskyi’s adviser said Ukraine expected to receive EU candidate status during the European Council meeting scheduled for June 23-24.
During her April 8 visit to Kiev, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj an expedited decision on the country’s admission to the international community. She handed Selenskyj a list of questions about intended EU membership, and the president promised to process the document within a week. Ukraine had applied for EU membership shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
Joining the EU is a long and complicated process. The last EU expansion was in 2013 with the addition of Croatia. The countries of the Western Balkans have been trying for years to become members of the EU. Turkey has virtually no prospects, although it has had candidate country status since 1999 and has been conducting accession negotiations since 2005.