Ukraine's membership would mean end of "sleepy siesta" about EU enlargement – Borrell
Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has commented on the possibility of Ukraine's EU membership and the disputes between Eastern European countries that could hinder it.
Source: Borrell in an interview with The Guardian; European Pravda
Details: Asked whether the disputes between some Eastern European countries and Ukraine over grain exports are a harbinger of the conflicts that could arise should Ukraine join the EU, Borrell said that this was not the case.
The European diplomat noted that Ukraine's path to the EU will not be easy, as the country is at war and has many reforms to carry out, and "at this moment, Ukraine being a member of the European Union, it would be the only country that would be a net beneficiary".
Consequently, he added that Ukraine and the EU will need to undergo a lengthy reform process.
Borrell also said Ukraine's membership would mean the end of what he called the "sleepy siesta" around EU enlargement.
"For years and years there has been a kind of stalemate and nothing happened. Ukraine has created a new dynamic," the EU’s top diplomat said.
Background:
- In late June, the European Commission verbally assessed Ukraine's progress towards EU membership. The Commission believes that Ukraine has fully met two of the seven conditions necessary for the start of membership negotiations and that progress has been made on the remaining conditions.
- Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna said Ukraine would not fully meet all seven criteria of the European Commission by October, but that accession talks would start anyway.
- Stefanishyna also said she is confident that Ukraine will be ready for EU membership in the next two years, and for NATO membership even earlier.
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