European Union moves closer to starting accession talks with Kyiv

European Commission has formally declared that the bloc should begin accession negotiations with Ukraine, as well as Moldova. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was reforming state institutions despite the war.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, on Wednesday, formally declared that the bloc should begin accession negotiations with Ukraine, as well as Moldova. EU leaders will need to approve the recommendation when they meet in December, for accession talks to begin.

“Today is a historic day because today the Commission recommends that the [European ] Council opens accession negotiations with Ukraine and with Moldova,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a briefing in Brussels on Wednesday.

Welcoming the decision, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was reforming state institutions despite the war.

“Our country must be in the European Union,” he said in a video posted on X. Reacting to the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the EU revived the idea of the country joining the Union and granted Ukraine candidate status in June last year.

Joining the EU requires potential members to align their laws and economy with the union and its operating principles. The EU has wanted Ukraine to undertake reforms on seven dimensions, of which, Ukraine will be expected to show further progress in tackling oligarch power, fighting corruption, and – perhaps most importantly for the EU, the rights of minorities.

Ms. Von der Leyen said she was able to “convince herself” that 90% of the reforms the EU required of Kyiv had been taken and that further reforms were continuing.