Ukraine will be an asset, not a burden when it joins the EU — FM Kuleba
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Ukraine will be "an asset and not a burden" when it becomes a full member of the European Union, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said during his official visit to Brussels, news service Euractiv reported on Nov. 8.
“If we were a burden, no one would be seriously talking about the membership of Ukraine in the EU — don’t forget that we are a nation of 44 million, we are a very big market,” Kuleba said in an interview.
Kuleba said that from an economic perspective, the source of the EU's prosperity in its current form lies in its common market.
"With the accession of Ukraine, the common market will expand exponentially, and it will bring benefits," he added.
Kuleba said that Ukrainians have long felt disappointed by the "inability of the EU to promise the prospect of membership."
"It would be an irresponsible act for the EU to miss this historic opportunity to make a step towards enlargement, not only with Ukraine, but with all other countries involved," he said.
Ukraine’s path to EU membership: What we know
Just four days after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, on Feb. 28, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed an application for Ukraine to join the European Union.
On June 17, 2022, the European Commission recommended granting Ukraine EU candidate status and set seven conditions for the start of accession negotiations:
· Reforming the Constitutional Court
· Continuation of overall judicial reform
· Strengthening the fight against corruption, including appointing a new head for the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office’s (SAPO)
· Concrete steps to combat money laundering
· Implementing the so-called “anti-oligarch” laws
· Harmonization of audiovisual legislation with European legislation
· Amending legislation on national minorities
At a summit on June 23, 2022, EU leaders supported granting candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova. In early March 2023, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that Ukraine had fulfilled all seven EU recommendations. According to him, Kyiv expects a political decision to start accession negotiations later this year.
On June 22, European Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi said that Ukraine had fulfilled two of the seven recommendations of the European Commission to start EU accession negotiations, while the remaining recommendations are still being implemented.
European Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius declared on Aug. 21 that “Ukraine’s progress towards meeting the conditions for EU accession is impressive.”
He added that the reforms already undertaken, particularly in the judicial system and media freedom, are “crucial, almost fundamental, like the glue that binds the EU.”
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