The Ukrainian government believes that a political decision on the start of EU accession negotiations will be made before the end of 2023, but it is possible that technically, the negotiations will begin later. 

Source: European Pravda, citing an interview of Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, with the Polish news website Onet. 

The Vice Prime Minister was asked if she hoped to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU before the end of this year. 

"As my colleagues in Brussels say, the decision to start negotiations and the actual start of negotiations are two different things. But we hope that in December we will hear a corresponding political decision. We understand that the actual start of negotiations may be significantly delayed, and the negotiations themselves may last for years," Stefanishyna said. 

She added that Ukraine has already proved that it can quickly follow the path that other countries have taken for years.

Earlier, Stefanishyna stated that Ukraine would not fully meet all seven EU criteria by October. However, accession negotiations will still begin.  

The Vice Prime Minister also expressed confidence that Ukraine would be ready for EU membership in the next two years, and as for NATO membership, it would be ready even sooner.

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