European Commission Backs Talks for Ukraine Joining EU

On Wednesday, the results were in from the European Commission about potential EU members’ progress towards joining the bloc.

Following the assessment, the European Commission recommended the EU begin formal talks with Ukraine to discuss the country getting membership.

Ukraine applied to join the 27 member countries weeks after Russia invaded it.

The decision for discussions on the issue comes five months after the EU granted Ukraine candidate status.

Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine had finished “well over 90% of the necessary reforms” required by the EU for its membership. She called this “excellent progress, even as it’s fighting an existential war.”

Despite the talks discussion, Centre for European Policy Studies’ Tina Akhvlediani said there were still “fundamental” changes Ukraine needs to take to join the EU. She said, “Ukraine has had massive issues with corruption, and it needs to do more to carry out judicial reform – which is relatively fundamental stuff.”

However, Akhvlediani stressed that “If Ukraine doesn’t join the EU, then the country will be lost to Russia. It’s autocracy versus democracy. We can’t just watch while Russia invades other countries that have European aspirations.”

The Commission also suggested that talks begin with Moldova, a country threatened by Russia’s meddling. Another former soviet country, Georgia, was offered candidate status.

Ursula von der Leyen sits in Kyiv, wearing a beige blazer. There is wooden paneling and Ukrainian flags behind her. She has short blonde hair and is looking like she feels serious. — 4th November, 2023, Ukraine. Kyiv. Ursula von der Leyen – President of the European Commission in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. (Source: Sarakhan Vadym/Shutterstock)

EU Enlargement Hurdles

As well as providing feedback in favor of Ukraine achieving membership status, the report suggests the country needs to:

Reform the constitutional judges’ election system further
Bring in more robust measures against money laundering and corruption
Install new laws to reduce the country’s powerful business people’s influence

Despite these recommendations, President Zelensky commented that the assessment is “historic.” He also said a favorable decision to join the EU would motivate troops.

Stefan Lehne from the Carnegie Europe think tank said the Ukraine-Russia war would “pose greater challenges” than the previous EU expansion. He said, “EU leaders understand the urgency of anchoring Ukraine firmly in the West, but they are also aware that the country’s security situation would pose greater challenges than any previous EU enlargement.”

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