The enlargement process can take 15 to 18 months and requires approval from the Commission, Parliament and the European Council.
The European Union wants to speed up the entry of Ukraine. EU countries agreed on Monday (March 7) to seek the opinion of the European Commission on the country’s entry into block 27 after receiving its request last Monday. But any membership process requires at least 15 months to a year and a half.
Last Tuesday, at a special meeting in the European Parliament, the main actors affected by the dossier, namely Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Charles Michel, President of the European Council, spoke. No one opposed this, and this is the first step towards making the EU enlargement to Ukraine effective. But there are other conditions for this expansion.
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EU membership conditions
Above all, we must respect the values enshrined in the Treaty on European Union and based on respect for the rule of law and human rights. The next step is compliance with the Copenhagen criteria, which requires democratic, economic and political guarantees.
In general, it is necessary to show that the candidate country for EU membership has stable institutions, a functioning market economy and the ability to fulfill the obligations of the political union, economic and monetary. Economic reforms, transparency or the fight against corruption are likely to be needed in Ukraine. The country will be carefully analyzed, especially now, when the consequences of the conflict will degrade not only the social foundations, but also the political and economic structures of the Ukrainian state.
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Commission evaluates, Council decides
The European Commission assesses the state of democracy, politics, economy and compliance with the requirements of Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union and the Copenhagen criteria. This is one of the most time-consuming tasks in the expansion process, as it requires deepening very broad technical issues. After this work is done, if the Commission evaluates positively the applicant country’s ability to join the European Union, it confirms its application, only application.
The essential and decisive stage comes when the request for membership comes to the European Council, where the heads of state and government 27 meet. It is this body that decides last whether or not to agree to the enlargement of the European Union. And what is very important, unanimity is needed.
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