EU reform should not slow down accession of new members – Ukrainian Foreign Minister

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on the EU to find a balance between the EU's reform process and enlargement in order not to slow down the accession of new members.

Source: European Pravda with reference to Kuleba, who arrived at a conference in Berlin on EU enlargement

Quote: "Our main position, which I brought from Kyiv, is that the EU reform should not take the enlargement process hostage. We have to find the right balance between the process of reforming the European Union and continuing enlargement. I don't think the EU can afford a protracted reform of itself."

Details: Kuleba explained that Ukraine is able to implement reforms to meet the membership criteria faster than the EU can implement internal reforms.

"The key point is that enlargement should be based on merit, respect the pace and dynamics of each country, and accession should not be postponed because of the (EU) reform," he said.

Kuleba suggested that other candidate countries share this opinion.

It is reported that the EU is going to carry out a large-scale internal reform in order to be able to accept new member states, which could be up to 10.

Background:

• At a conference in Berlin, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock hinted at a positive decision on Ukraine's accession to the EU from EU leaders at the December summit.
• On 2 November, the heads and representatives of the foreign ministries of all EU member states and candidate countries gathered in Berlin.
• This is the first major meeting of its kind dedicated to EU reform. At the meeting, Kyiv will insist that it is unacceptable for the political conditions of EU enlargement to hinder Ukraine's accession once Kyiv has fulfilled the legal and technical requirements for membership.

Read more on the topic: Reforming Europe for future enlargement: EU's changing approach to Ukraine's accession

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