- In the next meeting of the Twenty-seven the answer will be decided, as well as the "road map".
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| The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of Ukraine, Volidímir Zelenski. |
The European Commission has proposed this Friday to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate to join the European Union, although in its opinion it sets a series of conditions that will be the basis of the debate of European leaders next week in which they will have the last word on the candidacy of Kyiv.
"We have a clear message: yes, Ukraine deserves the European perspective and should benefit from being a candidate country. We are based on the understanding that work has been done but that important work remains to be done in terms of reforms," said the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at a press conference from Brussels to which she attended dressed in the yellow and blue colors of the Ukrainian flag.
The German conservative has stressed that the process is now based on merit and will depend on the progress that Ukraine makes in terms of European reforms, although she has highlighted that the country already complies with 70% of community rules and regulations.
After examining Ukraine's request in record time, the European Executive has issued a favorable opinion in which it recommends that the Member States grant the candidate status. Moldova has also received the same ruling as Ukraine, while Georgia is pending structural reforms to receive candidate status.
Von der Leyen has pointed to the reforms necessary to advance on the European path. Specifically, he mentioned pending work on the rule of law, such as appointing justice counselors, having an anti-corruption agency that is operational, and seeing the results of the recently adopted law against oligarchs. You have also mentioned the law on minorities that the Ukrainian authorities have yet to approve.
The decision comes just one day after France and Germany during their visit to Kyiv expressed their resounding support for granting candidate status. The recommendations and arguments from Brussels will serve as the basis for the debate between heads of state and government at the summit on June 23 and 24, in which the Twenty-seven will decide not only what to respond to the request for entry to the Ukrainian club, but also from Georgia and Moldova.
It will be in that debate of European leaders in which these conditions are outlined more, the 'road map' in the words of the French president, Emmanuel Macron. That is, any decision taken by the Twenty-seven on Ukraine's candidate status must be taken unanimously.
Brussels has prepared its opinion in record time, making an opinion in a month that usually takes almost a year, once the Ukrainian authorities also responded with unprecedented agility to the technical questionnaires. Ukraine applied to join the community club a few weeks after the Russian invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin on February 24.