Ukraine's future is in the European Union. And it has already completed an important step necessary for EU accession.
This was stated by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, during a joint press conference with Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
“We noted significant progress in the screening. Ukraine has fully completed the preliminary step necessary on the path to accession. There will be no reductions, no shortcuts. The approach is the same for everyone,” Kallas said.
At the same time, the EU’s chief diplomat praised Ukraine for making significant progress on the reforms required by the EU, even during wartime.
“I want to assure you that your future lies in the EU. We will work together to make this happen. And we are looking forward to the day when we will welcome Ukraine as a member of the EU,” Kallas emphasized.
In response, the Prime Minister assured the EU representative that Ukraine is making every effort to accelerate the pace of European integration.
“I believe that Ukraine can achieve significant results not in years, but in months. We will be able to complete all the ‘homework’ so that immediately after the war we can become a full-fledged member of the European Union,” Shmyhal emphasized.
He added that Ukraine expects an Intergovernmental Conference to be held following the decision of the EU Council to open Cluster 1, “Fundamentals of the Accession Process.” Overall, Kyiv expects that all six clusters in the accession negotiations with the EU will be opened in 2025.
