EU to agree to start talks on Ukraine's accession in December
European Union leaders are preparing to give their political consent to what is expected to be a positive decision by the European Commission on Ukraine's readiness to start accession talks in December.
Source: European Pravda; Politico with reference to three diplomatic sources
Details: As is known, the European Commission will publish a report on how well Ukraine and other EU accession candidates fulfil the relevant conditions. A European official said that this will happen in November.
After that, Politico's source claims, the European Commission will make a statement after which it will be "very hard for member states not to say let's open negotiations" for Ukraine.
"The political push around that will just be too big for individual member states to resist. The working assumption is indeed that by December, the European Council will decide to open negotiations," the source added.
Politico noted that by that time, Ukraine may not have fully implemented the seven recommendations of the European Commission on which accession talks depended. Therefore, EU leaders may give a political signal of consent to the talks, even if the legal framework is not yet finalised.
"The aim is to agree politically in December on the start of negotiations," a second diplomat said, adding that a legal decision on admitting Ukraine could happen by early 2024.
Background: Earlier, Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, said that there was a general consensus in the EU to open accession talks between Ukraine and the EU, but that the final decision would be preceded by work with capitals.
In a conversation with the new EU ambassador, Katarina Mathernova, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised to complete work on the seven criteria of the European Commission within a month.
Read more on the topic: Mission Not Accomplished: Start of EU Accession Negotiations Still at Risk
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