According to a report to be published this week, sources told Reuters, Ukraine has met two of the seven conditions for starting accession talks with the European Union.

The EU granted Ukraine official candidate status a year ago, four months after Russia, Kiev’s Soviet-era master, attacked the country amid its efforts to integrate with the West.

But the EU has put forward seven conditions, including judicial reform and a reduction in endemic corruption, for the start of accession talks. Ukraine called to start negotiations this year.

“There is progress”

The European Commission’s report is an important step in that process, which Ukrainian supporters hope will culminate in a decision by the 27-nation bloc to begin negotiations with Kyiv in December.

Two senior EU officials who had access to the report, which has not been made public, said Ukraine currently meets two criteria.

One of the officials noted that they relate to judicial reform and the media law, and added that the report emphasized positive points.

“There is progress. The report will be moderately positive,” said an EU official on condition of anonymity.

“It is not about embellishing reality, but about recognizing progress, there were vivid cases of the fight against corruption that were remembered, for example.”

The glass is half full

Several high-level corruption cases have been opened in Ukraine in recent months, including the arrest of the head of the Supreme Court for an alleged $2.7 million bribe.

In addition to strengthening anti-corruption efforts, other criteria include reforms of Ukraine’s Constitutional Court and law enforcement agencies, measures to combat money laundering, and laws to curb oligarchs and protect the rights of national minorities.

A third source, also an EU official familiar with the bloc’s recommendations for Ukraine on the rule of law, added: “From a reform point of view, that would be half the glass, we would never take a negative tone towards Ukraine at this point. Some progress has been made in judicial reforms, although some important work remains to be done. Not everything suits.”

The official emphasized that Ukraine appointed new heads of the SAP and NABU in accordance with the requirements, although the anti-oligarchy law of 2022 was recognized as insufficient, among other things.

The report, presented as an interim review before a more formal assessment in October, will be presented to ambassadors from the EU’s 27 member states in Brussels on Wednesday and then to a meeting of European affairs ministers in Stockholm on Thursday.

EU member states have the final say

The 27 member states have the final say on whether and when to start accession talks with Kyiv.

To fulfill the necessary conditions, Ukraine will have to bring its legislation into line with numerous European standards, from climate to labor. In practice, Ukraine’s accession process will take years, and few believe that the country can join the EU while at war with Russia.

Ukraine’s neighbors on the EU’s eastern flank, Poland and the Baltic states, generally support a fast track for Kyiv, while older western member states including France, Germany and the Netherlands are more reluctant to embrace the idea.

Ukraine’s entry into NATO

Another unpleasant news for Kyiv came on Monday from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who confirmed that Ukraine will not be invited to the North Atlantic Alliance summit to be held in July in Vilnius.

Most countries have long agreed that Ukraine cannot become a member of NATO during the war, but Kyiv, with the support of the Baltic states and Poland, has asked for a timetable to be able to join after the end of the conflict, writes The Guardian.

“At the summit in Vilnius and in the run-up to the summit, we are not discussing sending an official invitation,” Stoltenberg told reporters Monday after a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, adding that NATO leaders would talk about how to “engage Ukraine.” . closer” to the North Atlantic Alliance.

At the same time, Stoltenberg warned that the frozen conflict in Ukraine cannot be accepted in exchange for ending the war: “We all want the war to end, but a just peace cannot mean freezing the conflict and accepting an agreement dictated by Russia. “. (photo source DreamsTime)

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