The EU avoids setting a date for accession negotiations despite Ukraine's insistence on doing it "as soon as possible"

BRUSELAS, 3 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The European Union has avoided this Friday after the summit with Ukraine in kyiv to set deadlines for the opening of negotiations for accession to the bloc, despite the insistence of the president, Volodimir Zelenski, to speed up the entry process to take this step "as soon as possible". .

This has been reflected in the press conference after the meeting, in which Zelenski has set as a goal, in front of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the opening of negotiations this year. "We have already begun to prepare and we await the respective decisions of the Commission and the Council. The objective is to start negotiations this year, it is not a purpose but the most important objective," stressed the Ukrainian president.

Faced with Zelenski's impetus, community leaders have pointed out that the accession process to the EU is based on the merits of the candidates themselves, so there is no fixed calendar. "There are no set deadlines, but objectives that must be achieved. Reforms to improve the situation in the candidate country to then open accession negotiations and achieve entry into the EU," Von der Leyen assured at the press conference.

For his part, Michel has praised Ukraine's "political will" to progress on European reforms but has insisted that it is time to wait for the evaluation report from the European Commission after the summer. As he has pointed out, "by the end of the year" the European Council will be able to address the next steps in Ukraine's accession. "We will have to study the report and make decisions unanimously," he said.

This same balance is reflected in the joint declaration agreed by Brussels and kyiv that stresses the European commitment to a greater integration of Ukraine, but makes it clear that the bloc will decide the steps to follow "once all the conditions specified in the opinion of the Commission".

On Ukraine's claims, the document states that Ukraine "underlined its determination to meet the necessary requirements to start accession negotiations as soon as possible."

In any case, the 24th summit between the EU and Ukraine is of historic significance as it was held for the first time in a country at war and serves to send a political message to Russia at the height of the fighting in the Donbas region. On the eve of the summit, a meeting took place between fifteen European commissioners and the Ukrainian government, another show of support for Ukraine.

The meeting has served to strengthen Ukraine's participation in European programs, thus seeking to facilitate its integration into the single market, while waiting for the long road that its membership of the bloc represents. The roadmap focuses on trade and economic measures, customs, recognition of industrial products and telecommunications, which, together with Ukraine's participation in tax, digital and research programs, seeks greater integration into the European economy and facilitate its alignment with the acquis communautaire.

In this context, European leaders have promised to reinforce the pressure against Russia and the announcement this Thursday by Von der Leyen that the new round of sanctions will be ready for the anniversary of the war, on February 24, the president of the European Council He has argued that the EU will do "more" to torpedo the "Russian war machine".

On this front, Zelensky has signaled expectations that the new round of restrictions will hit the Russian military industry's ability to produce missiles, as well as punish the nuclear sector, at which point he has mentioned Rosatom, the state nuclear energy corporation. Russian.

In a conversation with journalists in Brussels prior to the trip to Ukraine, the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, referred to this new batch of sanctions, ensuring that the EU is studying restrictions to cut all technological ties with Russia and West, in such a way that its ability to exploit natural resources and manufacture weapons can be reduced.