Report: The EU will recommend Ukraine joining the bloc
The European Commission is expected to unveil today its official recommendation regarding Ukraine's application to join the EU, according to sources The Commission is expected to recommend that Ukraine be granted "candidate" status, the first official step in a process that usually lasts more than a decade
News agencies
17/06/2022
Friday, 17 June 2022, 12:25 Updated: 12:31
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In the video: Zlansky's speech to EU parliamentarians (Photo: Reuters)
The European Commission is expected to reveal today (Friday) its official recommendation regarding Ukraine's application to join the European Union, according to sources who spoke with the New York Times.
The Commission is expected to recommend that Ukraine be granted "candidate" status, the first official step in a process that usually takes more than a decade.
The move was decided after the leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Romania arrived in Kiev on Wednesday and declared unwavering support for Ukraine and its accession to the union.
The Commission announcement today is just the first step on a very long road.
The final decision is in the hands of the union leaders, who will meet on June 23-24 in Brussels to address the issue.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zalansky (Photo: GettyImages, Andreas Renz)
Union leaders disagree on whether Ukraine is technically ready to embark on the enormous reforms needed to join the 27-nation organization.
Some countries prefer that Ukraine be given the status of "lite candidate," meaning a promise that involves many challenges that it will have to overcome along the way.
These countries think that such an approach is more realistic, but also shows integrity and does not guarantee false promises to Ukraine.
The commission's recommendation is mainly a bureaucratic and technical document that examines whether the country is suitable for applying to join the EU in the face of some requirements known as the "Copenhagen criterion" and relating to governance, justice and economic issues.
In all these, Ukraine lags behind.
In addition, there are concerns about the problem of corruption in the country, as well as the consequences of the war.
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Leaving the UK in 2016 was extremely significant.
EU flag (Photo: AP)
But the question is not only about the readiness of Ukraine.
It also touches on the union's ability to accept new members.
The bloc moved away from the original idea of free trade that was at its core and became a geopolitical entity, which changed the acceptance process.
Leaving the UK in 2016 was highly significant because it caused the bloc to shrink for the first time, and because the UK was in favor of a larger union with fewer regulations.
The trauma of the Brexit, according to experts, may play a role in any possible expansion now.
Protest against Brexit in 2020 (Photo: Reuters)
In addition, two countries from the western Balkans, Albania and northern Macedonia have been waiting for years for negotiations on EU membership.
They, too, are of strategic importance to unification, and are threatened by Russia.
Granting candidate status to Ukraine and not to them could be a problematic decision.
Moldova and Georgia, Ukraine's neighbors, have also applied to join the union, raising concerns about the Russian threat in the region.
Moldova is probably the country that will succeed in its request, compared to Georgia, but both are waiting in line after Ukraine - and the process of joining will take longer.
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