Deputy Prime Minister believes that joining the EU is possible even without the end of the war

Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna is convinced that Ukraine's accession to the EU cannot be tied to the issue of ending the war or liberation.

She stated this in Canada, answering questions from journalists on the sidelines of the Halifax Security Conference.

The deputy prime minister is convinced that even if the end of the war is delayed, this will not become an obstacle to Ukraine's accession to the EU.

"I will not make any predictions about the time, but when it comes to membership, the dynamics of the war will not be a decisive factor. We can join the EU even if the war is not completely over," she said.

Stefanishyna did not specify what elements of the war may drag on until the issue of joining the EU becomes practical but recalled that earlier Ukraine and the EU concluded a trade political agreement despite the existence of occupied territories.

"Let me remind you that we signed an association agreement when Crimea was annexed and the war broke out in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but this did not affect the launch of the free trade zone, there were no separate reservations about this," she stressed.

As you know, Cyprus, which is a member of the EU, does not control its entire territory – the northern part of the island has the status of occupied by Turkey.

Earlier, Stefanishyna stated that after the end of the war joining NATO will be a priority for Ukraine.

Ukraine expects to start negotiations on joining the EU next year and is already preparing a negotiating position on this issue.

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