The Ukrainian government wants to "enter the Eu in the line of fire", and the EU side has shown enthusiasm, repeatedly stating that "Ukraine and the EU belong to the same family". However, Ukraine's first step in the eulogy was difficult. Bloomberg quoted several EU diplomats as saying on March 7 that several Western European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, were opposed to granting Ukraine candidacy.
Screenshot of Bloomberg's report
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy signed a document on Ukraine's application to join the European Union on February 28, urging the EU to approve Ukraine's accession to the European Union as soon as possible through special procedures. The European Parliament passed a resolution on March 1 saying EU institutions would "work to grant" Ukraine the status of an EU candidate. It is understood that the resolution adopted by the European Parliament is not binding and does not play a decisive role in the procedure of Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
Obtaining candidate status is the first step in the long road to membership in the EU.
Several EU diplomats told Bloomberg that Ukraine's first steps were not as smooth as expected. Several Western European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, want EU institutions to express their views on whether Ukraine is ready to join the EU before granting Ukraine candidacy.
Bloomberg added that given the current situation in Ukraine, even an opinion from the EU side would be a worrying task, as it would involve the European Commission sending a long list of issues to the Ukrainian government and sending a fact-finding mission to the country.
On Thursday (10th), the leaders of EU countries will hold a two-day meeting near Paris to discuss Ukraine's application for eu-accession. One of the EU diplomats revealed that in a private discussion before that, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries wanted the meeting to focus on providing practical support to Ukraine and pushing for the end of the war, rather than on starting a process that could take 10 years to join the European Union.
Bloomberg predicts that at Thursday's summit, EU leaders may make the following choices: decide to support Ukraine's candidacy and start a lengthy negotiation process for full membership; push the issue to the European Commission to delay time; or find a compromise position, such as acknowledging Ukraine's long-term relationship with the EU but not formally endorsing its candidacy.
President of the European Council Michel: Ukraine's accession to the European Union will be discussed in the coming days
In addition, some EU diplomats believe that the leaders at the summit may ask the European Commission to express their opinions on whether to grant Ukraine candidacy sooner than usual to show political support for the Ukrainian government. By convention, this process usually lasts 15 to 18 months.
There are big differences within the EU on this issue. Proponents argue that even though the process of joining the EU is long and complex, eu leaders' support for Ukraine's accession to the EU is of great symbolic significance. Instead, opponents fear that such a statement would create false expectations for Ukraine, and that the Ukrainian government is not ready to begin the formal eulogy process.
At present, the countries that have been listed as candidates for eu-accession by the EU include Turkey and four Western Balkan countries: Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro. The above-mentioned five countries have been waiting for many years and have not yet become full members, some have started accession negotiations, and some have not yet officially launched. Ukraine, on the other hand, has not yet become a candidate to join the European Union.
On March 1, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly called on the EU to treat Ukraine and Turkey equally and not to wait until Turkey was "hit by war" before letting Turkey join the EU. Turkey, a member of NATO, applied to join the European Union in the 1980s, but has not been successful.
Erdogan shouted that the EU should treat Turkey equally, screenshot of the video
Previous analysis said that Ukraine's road to joining the EU is still long, even if the western Balkans a number of candidates for membership, do not know whether and when they will be accepted into the EU membership, depending on their rule of law, anti-corruption and public administration and other areas to meet the EU accession conditions.
Bloomberg noted that gaining EU membership is a daunting process that takes more than 10 years to meet dozens of criteria, from the rule of law to judicial reform. Initiating this process requires unanimous approval by all EU Member States, the European Commission and the European Parliament. Croatia, the most recent country to join the European Union, applied for 10 years before it was officially accepted in 2013.
On March 6, European Commission President von der Leyen again made his views on Ukraine's accession to the European Union. She said Ukraine's application to join the European Union was welcome, and "there is no doubt that the brave Ukrainian people belong to the European family". But at the same time, there are clear rules and procedures for joining the EU that "cannot be bypassed" and are not something that happen overnight.
She also did not give a definitive answer as to when the process would bear fruit at the earliest, stressing that the most important thing now was to provide as much support to Ukraine as possible in the current conflict.
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