Ukraine is completing the completion of questionnaires on the status of a candidate for accession to the EU. How the consideration of his application will proceed, what might be the conclusion of the European Commission and why the EU summit in June is important.
Ukraine will complete the second part of the questionnaire on its application for EU membership by the end of this week. This was announced on May 2 by Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for European Integration Olha Stefanyshina. What are these questionnaires for and how to consider Ukraine’s application for EU membership.
First Questionnaire for Candidate Status in the EU
The first questionnaire consisted of political and economic components. The first questions are about the political system of Ukraine with an emphasis on the independence of the judiciary, the fight against corruption and respect for human rights. That is, we are talking about how democracy works and the rule of law in Ukraine.
The second part is shorter and tries to examine the state of the economy and finance, in particular, the business climate, the degree of privatization and the degree of government intervention in the economy. The main task here is to find out whether there is a market economy in Ukraine that can withstand the competitive pressure that exists in the European Union.
In total, the questionnaire contained approximately 370 questions on approximately 40 pages. Therefore, it is not surprising that the answers here are collected in two thick volumes. They were given by their President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to the head of the EU Delegation in Kyiv Matti Maasikas on April 18 – a record 10 days after receiving the first questionnaire
Questionnaire 2: EU legal customs in Ukraine
The second questionnaire, submitted on April 13, will take more time. After all, it’s much bigger: almost 240 pages with almost two thousand questions. This part is about EU law called acquis.
The aim is to find out what legal norms and rules are implemented in Ukraine and to what extent European law is implemented here. The questions are divided into 33 chapters. These are the same chapters where EU accession negotiations must take place, such as freedom of movement of goods, the taxation system, or environment and climate change.
The issue of EU law enforcement is not new for Ukraine, as Kyiv has been dealing with it for more than a year within the framework of the association agreement. For example, independent operators of electricity and gas supply systems are already operating in the country.
And in foreign policy, Kyiv regularly participates in EU sanctions, not only against Russia, but also, for example, against Iran or Myanmar.
The war will also have an influence on the answers. After all, some questions relate to the assessment of the level of oil reserves in accordance with EU standards or the condition of roads and railways. As you know, Russian troops are actively attacking and destroying both oil storage facilities and the transportation infrastructure of Ukraine.
The European Commission is preparing an opinion on the application of Ukraine
Based on Ukraine’s responses, the European Commission (EC) will prepare its opinion – in order, as its chairman Ursula von der Leyen (Ursula von der Leyen) said, to get “a clear picture of situation in the country and (understand. – Ed.) whether it meets, for example, Copenhagen standards “. Brussels is already processing Ukraine’s responses.
When von der Leyen brought the first part of the questionnaire to Kyiv, he promised: “We will speed up this process as much as possible, while ensuring that all conditions are met.”
European Commission spokeswoman Ana Pisonero confirmed in a comment DW von der Leyen’s promise to “complete the opinion within weeks, not years.” “We don’t work under normal circumstances,” he added.
In practice, the whole process runs identically: the Ukrainian authorities began to prepare their responses before they even received the questionnaires. And while filling it out, officials in Kyiv and Brussels are constantly in touch and can adjust the whole process so that the answers provide the exact information the EC needs.
What conclusion on Ukraine’s application can the European Commission draw?
Questionnaires and answers to them are confidential documents. But the EC published its conclusion – after it was approved by the European board of commissioners. Georgia and Moldova also produced their responses to similar questionnaires.
What could be the conclusion of the European Commission? There are two possibilities. The first is to recommend granting candidate status. The second would make a series of recommendations if Brussels officials decide the country is unprepared.
This is exactly what happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The end of the EC in 2019 identified this as inadequate preparation and made 14 recommendations. This country is still considered a potential candidate.
The EU summit in June may consider Ukraine’s membership
While in Kyiv on April 20, the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, said: “It is expected that the European Commission will publish an opinion on this application (of Ukraine for EU membership. – Ed.) Before the end of June. We will consider the moment when the European Commission published this opinion, and I will decide when it is appropriate to put this topic on the agenda. “
The EC has no clear deadlines by which it is obligated to prepare an opinion. The end of June is an important milestone, because on June 23-24 the EU summit will be held in Brussels. This is the earliest date when issues of the status of candidates for Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova can be considered. If they don’t have time in June, everyone will move to the fall.
From mid-July to the end of August in Brussels-the time of the summer holidays, and the next regular EU summit is scheduled for late October. To be in time for the summer summit, the European Commission must publish its opinion in the first half of mid-June. Judging by the EC statements, this period is quite realistic.
“We are fully capable (to meet this deadline. – Ed.), And the European Commission will be able to ensure that all procedures are completed before the summit in June,” Stefanishina said in an interview with Euractiv .
Is there a consensus with the EU on granting candidate status to Ukraine?
A positive conclusion of the European Commission does not yet mean granting the status of a candidate for membership. After all, the issue will shift to the consideration of EU member states. They make the final decision. This requires their consensus at all stages of the movement towards EU membership.
“It’s no secret that there are different opinions and sensitive issues on the European Council’s table on the principle of augmentation,” Charles Michel acknowledged in Kyiv.
And he assured that Brussels will act as quickly as possible, but only when the EU is ready for it. In his cautious statements, Michel may indicate that the issue of candidate status may not be considered at the June summit. After all, everything depends on the position of the EU member states, but until now there has been no unity among them.
Formally, the decision on whether to grant candidate status in Ukraine is made by the EU Council. But it is necessary to give permission at the EU summit. According to DW sources, it is still unclear whether this issue will be considered first by the Council of the European Union, or immediately by the leaders of the 27 member countries.
If Ukraine receives candidate status in June, it is important to understand that after that the work on joining the EU will only really begin. And even at the highest rate, it will take years.
Source: Russian Service DW
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Source: korrespondent
