According to President Zelenskyy, 25 June marks a watershed moment in Ukraine’s history as it enters into genuine membership negotiations with the European Union. ’We will never be derailed from our path to a united Europe, to our common home of all European nations. A home that must be peaceful!’, he concluded in his statement issued on the occasion of the inaugural Intergovernmental Conference on Ukraine’s Accession to the EU.
Given that the intergovernmental conference was held on 25 June in Luxembourg, negotiations with Ukraine begin before 1 July, when Hungary, which is sceptical of Ukraine’s European integration, succeeds Belgium at the presidency of the Council of the European Union. Hungary did not block the decision, however Hungarian PM Viktor Orban said that he does not agree with the accession process as considers it a politically motivated one.
Hungary’s position may pay off, given that Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for Ukraine’s European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and the head of Ukraine’s delegation in negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union said that Ukraine was prepared to fulfil Hungary’s 11 demands regarding the rights of national minorities in Ukraine.
’As of now, we are committed to resolving and, on this basis, fully implementing the 11 issues raised, in particular, by Hungary and aimed at strengthening the protection of the rights of national minorities, and to continuing bilateral consultations with Hungary on this issue,’ Stefanishyna said. She added that Ukraine is ready to take further steps to protect the rights of national minorities ’agreed during the dialogue and on the basis of relevant agreements with Hungary, in good faith and as a contribution to mutual understanding, trust and respect’.
If Hungary’s numerous protests against Ukraine’s non-compliance with EU membership criteria eventually lead to an improvement in the situation of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine, Orban’s street fight will prove to be justified and worth the efforts. If the situation with the rights of national minorities in Ukraine remains unchanged, all efforts were in vain.
It should be noted that an optimistic forecast Ukraine counts on envisages the opening of the first chapters in early 2025. With regard to Ukraine’s actual accession to the EU one should not forget that, once upon a time, an EU candidate country Turkey also hoped for an accession process that would last only a couple of years…
But as for Ukraine’s EU membership, let’s remain optimistic, mainly because the bloc’s political leadership, namely President of the European Commission has remained unchanged and, Ursula von der Leyen is deeply committed to supporting Kyiv’s Euro-Atlantic orientation.
Let’s also hope that the EU will year after year hold Ukraine accountable for meeting its membership criteria, implementing necessary reforms, improving the situation of national minorities, curbing corruption and guaranteeing press and media freedom in the country.
These are all part of an optimistic scenario. Everyone seems to be happy so far, both in Brussels and Kyiv, but the main question remains unanswered and that is when will the beloved home of millions of Ukrainians finally become truly peaceful?
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