Czechia should promote negotiations on Ukraine's accession to EU this year – Czech President

The Czech Republic should demand the European Union to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU already this year, which is what Kyiv wants.

Source: Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic, after meeting with Charles Michel, President of the European Council, Ceske Noviny reports

According to him, Ukraine's EU membership being granted as soon as possible is in the Czech interests, and the Czech Republic should insist that "accession negotiations with Ukraine really start before the end of this year".

Quote: "The wider the zone of stability to the east of our borders, the safer we will be here," Pavel said.

At the same time, he criticised unilateral blockades of import of Ukrainian grain, which were introduced by Poland, Slovakia, and other countries due to problems with the sale of their own products. Instead, the EU could, for example, introduce temporary tariffs, the Czech president added.

"I clearly see the solution not in the adoption of unilateral measures by individual states, but within the European Union," he said, adding that temporary tariffs could be one of the solutions.

Background: 

• The European Commission is considering recommending to EU member states to start accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, and to grant candidate status to Georgia.
• Accession negotiations refer to the conditions under which a country will be admitted to the EU. They focus on the adoption and implementation of EU legislation (acquis). The aim is for the candidate country to meet the conditions for membership, often referred to as the Copenhagen criteria.

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