By 2030, Ukraine will become a member of the European Union

The head of the European Council, Charles Michel, supports Ukraine’s entry into EU until 2030 if the homework is done.

In conversation with publication He said to Spiegel regarding Ukraine and other candidate countries:

“Yes, Ukraine can become part of the EU in 2030 if both sides do their homework. We in the EU need to be clear about what we want to achieve together, where our priorities are, and what we want to spend money on. And we need to speed up the process decision making”.

He noted that all countries wishing to join the EU must implement reforms, fight corruption and comply with legal requirements. Michel said the EU could not waste any more time:

“The countries of the Western Balkans, for example, have been waiting 20 years to join the EU, the influence of Russia and China is growing there. And a prosperous and secure Ukraine is in our own interests. Its resistance to Russia showed that Ukraine should be in the EU. And soon, not once upon a time. It would also prove that the EU is capable of geopolitical action.”

As is known, the issue of EU reform actively discussed amid preparations for its expansion to include the states of Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans. We are talking about the ministerial summit on September 28-29 in Murcia, which became a preparatory stage for the meeting of the European political community, scheduled for October 5 in Granada, Spain. In both cases, EU enlargement became one of the main issues.

Portugal spoke out against fixed deadlines for EU enlargement, writes Euroactiv. On Wednesday, Portugal’s Secretary of State for European Affairs Thiago Antunes said EU enlargement should not have a fixed time frame, but its institutions must be reformed to accommodate new members:

“It is foolish to set fixed or very specific deadlines. The expansion process is based on the candidates’ own merits, an assessment of their potential and the fulfillment of the Copenhagen criteria.”

He announced, speaking at a parliamentary EU affairs committee hearing ahead of Friday’s informal meeting of EU leaders in Granada, Spain, that EU enlargement would be the “central theme” of the meeting:

“This is an absolute priority that, for geopolitical reasons, has acquired new significance, both for the countries of the Western Balkans, which have been waiting for it the longest, and for the eastern trio – Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. There is a consensus that enlargement is an investment in peace, security and stability in Europe. We want this to happen, hopefully as soon as possible.”

According to Antunes, Portugal believes that it is necessary to “accelerate the work that will make this enlargement possible, both for the candidate countries and for the EU itself,” so that both sides “are ready for when this moment comes.” He emphasized:

“The candidate countries must accelerate the process of reform, especially in the area of ​​the rule of law, which is an important and basic aspect… We are also obliged to provide technical assistance and assistance to the candidate countries in this extremely complex process of preparation and integration into the community acquis (EU law) “.

At the end of August, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, announced his desire for the EU to be ready for enlargement by 2030. Paris and Berlin share ambitions for the 2030 deadline, provided that the necessary institutional reforms are carried out in the EU. However, politicians in Berlin insist that some member states, citing Poland as an example, oppose these reforms, although at the same time they are ardent supporters of Ukraine’s immediate EU membership.

At the same time, the former head of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, believes that Ukraine is not ready to join the European Union and does not meet the criteria for membership due to total corruption. He stated this today in an interview with Augsburger Allgemeine, quotes “A country”:

“You cannot make false promises to people in Ukraine who are up to their necks in trouble. I am extremely outraged by some voices in Europe who are trying to make Ukrainians believe that they can become members of the EU immediately. This will not benefit either the EU or Ukraine.”

President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky has already arrived in the Spanish city of Granada, where today, October 5, the summit of the European Political Community will be held, reports “UP”. On the second day of the meeting, October 6, EU leaders will hold an informal meeting to discuss the development of the union until 2030.

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