The international community is discussing the European Union's (EU) desire to begin membership talks with Ukraine as soon as possible.
Redaksiya reports that the President of the EU Council, Antonio Costa, expressed his hope to start membership negotiations with Ukraine, which holds candidate country status, at the earliest opportunity. Costa made these remarks to the press after a meeting with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Oslo, the capital of Norway.
Addressing the situation in Ukraine, Costa stated, "We want to officially start negotiations as soon as possible and make progress in the enlargement process." Acknowledging the uncertainties, Costa emphasized, "I cannot confirm whether this will happen in 2027, 2026, or later, but maintaining the pace is very important."
Costa highlighted that despite the ongoing war, Ukraine is implementing the necessary reforms to achieve EU membership, evaluating the progress made as "particularly impressive." Regarding the topic of "phased membership," which has been discussed to overcome Hungary's recent veto and ensure Ukraine's EU accession, Costa stated, "There are established rules for membership. Candidate countries must meet these criteria, particularly those outlined in the Copenhagen criteria of 1993."
Ukraine applied for EU membership on February 28, 2022, following the war initiated by Russia on February 24, 2022. The EU Council granted Ukraine candidate country status on June 23, 2022. Although a decision was made at the EU summit held on December 14-15, 2023, to begin membership negotiations, this has not yet been possible due to Hungary's veto. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán frequently voices his opposition to Ukraine's EU membership.