Part of the European Union: what kind of membership is Ukraine prepared to accept?
20 February 14:31
Ukraine wants full membership in the European Union; simplified membership is not being considered.
This was stated in an interview with RBC-Ukraine by the deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Ihor Zhovkva, reports "Komersant Ukrainian".
“I want to emphasize: we do not need ersatz membership. When we hear about light membership (facilitated membership – ed.), the answer is definitely no,” Zhovkva said.
He recalled that Ukraine was once offered ersatz candidate status.
“At that time, the president said: better nothing than ersatz. Similarly, there will be no light or half-light membership here. There will be full membership, but first there will be a political decision on full membership, with a clear date,” said the deputy head of the Presidential Office.
Further, according to him, there are certain procedures. And even when the negotiations are over and the agreement is concluded, the ratification process must take place in each of the parliaments.
Zhovkva stressed that Ukrainians cannot live without a clear understanding of where they will be next on this path. This is important not only because a specific date appears in the draft 20-point peace plan.
“We have all seen the latest report on EU enlargement, and there are four countries that meet the necessary criteria, and Ukraine is among them. Any references to the fact that other countries joined 10, 15, or 20 years ago do not work. Ukraine’s accession will take place in completely different geopolitical conditions. No country has ever joined the EU while fending off such powerful aggression as Russia’s,” he stressed.
Therefore, according to the deputy head of the Presidential Administration, a political decision must be made. And then there are the relevant formulas. The countries that joined the EU in the last waves all had certain deferral periods, particularly in certain sectors of the single European market.
“I would like to remind you that Ukraine, even though it is not yet a member of the EU, is already integrated into certain sectors of the single market. For example, the electricity sector, our membership in ENTSO-E (European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity – ed.) even in the early days of full-scale Russian aggression,” Zhovkva added.
He also mentioned the IT sector and the recent introduction of full roaming for Ukraine.
“Therefore, we are not starting from scratch today; we have already passed a certain stage,” said the deputy head of the OP.
According to him, there will certainly be delays in certain sectors.
“I recently spoke with the head of the European External Action Service, who is Spanish by nationality, and she said: I remember how long the transition period was for Spain in the fisheries sector, we went into it consciously, but we were already members of the EU,” Zhovkva said.
As for the political sphere, he noted that there may be certain models in which Ukraine will initially have limited voting rights on certain issues.
“But this should not apply to foreign policy and security issues. Ukraine should have a say in these matters right away, and we are clear about that,” the deputy head of the OP emphasized.
Ukraine’s accession to the EU
As a reminder, the EU is preparing a number of options for including Ukraine’s membership in the future peace agreement. In particular, it could be gradual and provide Kyiv with preliminary protection.
Ukraine has stated that the US peace plan sets the date for EU accession in 2027. However, there is a caveat: the provision is being revised due to objections from some EU member states.
Politico recently revealed the EU’s five-step plan, which could grant Ukraine partial membership even before the completion of all reforms and full accession to the bloc.
It is noted that the plan does not simplify the reform requirements, but it should be a political signal of support for Ukraine and other candidate countries whose progress is hampered by war or political disputes within the bloc.
At the same time, the main obstacle to the initiative remains the position of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who opposes Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
EU members are considering various options to overcome the blockade, from waiting for the results of the Hungarian elections to the possible use of political pressure mechanisms within the EU.
At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that the country will do everything to prepare for EU accession by 2027 and has emphasized that he wants a specific date.
However, there is currently no consensus in the European Union on the date of Ukraine’s accession to the bloc. EU governments are not ready to give their opinion on the date despite Zelensky’s request.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos recently said that, based on the current methodology, Ukraine will not be able to join the EU before 2027. For this reason, Brussels is considering applying a “geopolitical approach” to speed up the process.
