Germany is ready to help Ukraine with start of EU accession negotiations
German politicians plan to support Ukraine in preparing for the start of negotiations on its accession to the European Union.
Source: Oleksii Makeiev, ambassador of Ukraine to Germany, in an interview with ZN.ua, according to European Pravda.
He explained that Germany's position on Ukraine's membership in the EU is based on its own interest.
According to Makeiev, he is trying to "convince that Germans should not treat EU expansion as something very burdensome".
The diplomat said that Berlin's representatives have now begun to approach the Ukrainian side with offers of assistance in implementing certain points of the recommendations. They are ready to get together with partners to guide Kyiv on the issue of reforms.
"Moreover, we have now agreed with the Germans that they will provide systematic assistance to our government officials in preparing the negotiation process, telling them how to negotiate. This is a huge part of the work that will take years. That is, this kind of assistance – ‘how to negotiate for accession to the EU’ – is absolutely systematic and substantive, and will also be provided by the Germans, as more and more of them are coming out of their own interest in this," Makeiev said.
He added that the German government is very positive about Ukraine's future in the European Union and it continues to monitor Ukraine’s progress in fulfilling the relevant criteria of the European Commission.
For reference: In June 2023, the European Commission will publish a preliminary assessment of Ukraine's progress in the reforms necessary for the opening of negotiations on EU membership.
According to a study conducted by a consortium of Ukrainian think tanks, the final score for Ukraine's fulfilment of the "European integration" criteria was 6.8 points out of 10, which is more than two-thirds.
Against this backdrop, the start of EU accession negotiations in 2023 seems a realistic goal. Read more in the article: "Almost Ready" for Accession Negotiations: What Ukraine's Score on 7 EU Criteria Reveals.
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