Zelenskyy’s advisor names approximate timeline for Ukraine's accession to EU

Evropeiska Pravda – Monday, 11 April 2022, 11:54

Ihor Zhovkva, diplomatic advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on questions of European integration, believes that Ukraine’s accession to the EU will take place in the next couple of years and will definitely not take as long as five years.

Source: Ihor Zhovkva in an interview with Evropeiska Pravda

Details: Zhovkva said that "Our accession to the EU will definitely take place in the next few years."

He admitted that not all EU member states are ready for this decision, but insisted that the ongoing negotiations have been effective so far.

According to Zhovkva: "Unfortunately, there is no unanimity among countries, but we can definitely say that not a single EU country is against it. And the attitudes of the different countries with regard to Ukraine’s accession are changing favourably, even though the pace of this change varies slightly."

Details: Zhovkva refused to make an official prediction of the possible year of Ukraine’s accession, explaining that at this stage "unfortunately, not everything depends on us." Still, he considers it unlikely that negotiations will take too long.

"Definitely not ten, not even five years. Ukrainians, soldiers on the frontlines, civilians who are being shelled, children who want to live in a European Ukraine – they won’t let this happen. We’re talking about a few years," he stressed.

He also acknowledged that Ukraine will have to go through all the stages of negotiations and implement all the necessary reforms, but insisted that Ukraine will be able to do so: "Despite the war, our sectoral integration into the EU has accelerated. An example is Ukraine’s accession to the EU energy system. This was accomplished ahead of schedule, a year and a half before the planned date."

The government expects that Ukraine will be granted candidate status for EU membership in June 2022.