Business news from Ukraine

EUROPEAN COMMISSION WILL INSIST ON GRANTING UKRAINE STATUS OF CANDIDATE FOR EU MEMBERSHIP – MEDIA

14 June , 2022  

The European Commission will insist on granting Ukraine the status of a candidate member of the EU, the final decision rests with the European Council, Politico reported.
“The European Commission will recommend granting Ukraine formal EU candidate status, according to several officials familiar with discussions that took place during a debate among commission members on Monday,” the statement said on Tuesday night.
The debate in the College of Commissioners followed a visit on Saturday by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Kyiv, where she discussed Ukraine’s membership bid with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian officials have pushed for formal recognition as an EU candidate country, saying the appointment would provide an invaluable morale boost during the war. “They repeatedly noted that after the 2013-2014 Maidan revolution, the citizens of Ukraine repeatedly risked their lives – and indeed, thousands have now died – fighting for a free, democratic future in the EU,” the publication stressed.
“The Commission does not forget that Ukraine is the only country in Europe where people died, where people were shot because they were on the streets with EU flags. Now we cannot tell them: “Sorry guys, you were waving the wrong flag” , – quotes his source Politico.
It is noted that supporters of Ukraine’s bid said that any delay in granting candidate status would be deeply demoralizing for Ukraine, as invading Russian troops temporarily occupy large swaths of the south and east of the country and seek to capture the entire eastern region of Donbass.
During discussions about the status of the candidates for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, many EU officials and diplomats noted the sensitivity, given the slow pace of accession of the Western Balkans, which was declared a candidate country more than 10 years ago.
“Monday’s debate among commissioners raised broader questions about what an enlarged EU might look like in the future, including whether there would still be one commissioner per member state. The discussion also touched on the possibility that the upcoming summit, some EU leaders may try to impose conditions on Ukraine’s candidacy or return to the idea of granting some new status that does not correspond to the official candidacy.
According to the information from the representative of the Elysee Palace, the status of the candidate, if it is granted, will be only the beginning of a much longer process.
“Once Ukraine potentially gets candidate status, we also have to see when negotiations start. And you know that the EU membership methodology provides for chapter-by-chapter negotiations and reversible negotiations depending on how the country develops. So there are requirements that are in line with EU standards. , and in any case they will be very demanding of Ukraine,” the spokesman said.
In Kyiv, Igor Zhovkva, deputy head of Ukrainian President Zelensky’s office, said there was no alternative to nominating a candidate. “We will not accept any alternatives, nor compromises, as some leaders tell us, nor deviations from this candidate status,” Zhovkva was quoted as saying by the publication.

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