European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the executive branch’s opinion on Ukraine’s status as a candidate country would reflect “carefully” the great progress the country has made over the past decade, but also that “it should much more to be done “.
“I hope that in 20 years, when we look back, we can say that we did the right thing,” Von der Leyen told a news conference on her way back from Kyiv late Saturday. “The challenge will be to come out of the council with a single position, which will reflect the magnitude of these historic decisions.”
The commission is expected to recommend on June 17 that Ukraine be granted candidate status to join the bloc on terms related to the rule of law and anti-corruption measures. EU leaders will discuss the opinion at a summit in Brussels on 23-24 June, and all 27 Member States will have to approve the recommendation.
“We are working day and night for this assessment,” Merkel told a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Saturday.
Half a dozen countries, including the Netherlands and Denmark, remain skeptical about Ukraine’s readiness to start accession talks, which could take about a decade. Some are also concerned about giving preference to Ukraine over existing candidates due to the ongoing war.
Von der Leyen says Ukraine’s EU bid goes ahead during visit to Kyiv
The milestone will open a painstaking accession process that could take more than a decade, during which the country will have to adopt EU rules and standards.
Von der Leyen’s visit to Ukraine was the second since the Russian invasion and took place as Kyiv struggles to fill a financial gap of about 5 billion euros ($ 5.3 billion) a month.
He visited a hospital with wounded soldiers in Kyiv and took a brief tour of the historic Maidan Square, where lanterns were decorated with flowers and the streets were crowded.
Speaking to Zelensky, she said that Europe mourns with Ukraine for its losses. “But I also see, here in Kyiv, that life is reviving,” he added. “I see people cleaning up the rubble, rebuilding the bridges, people coming back from abroad, coming back to the city – and that’s a good sign.”
Source: Capital
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