Ukraine received EU candidate status without any conditions - Stefanyshina

The status of a candidate for accession to the European Union was granted to Ukraine without any conditions, it is only necessary to fulfill seven recommendations. This was announced by Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishyna on the air of the telethon.

According to her, the implementation of the above recommendations will allow Kyiv and Brussels to move on to negotiations on membership.

"The consensus we had is a product of 100% trust. We must preserve this, which means that the recommendations must be implemented," the Deputy Prime Minister stressed.

Stefanyshina also said that the decision on the status of Ukraine at the EU summit was made very quickly - "in 30 seconds."

At the same time, the former US Special Representative for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, also predicted on UA RAZOM that the accession negotiations between Ukraine and the EU could begin in mid-2023.. However, in his opinion, at the end of this year, the EU will see how Ukraine has fulfilled its conditions.

"And in about four months, the EU may launch membership negotiations on one of the simplest chapters (for starters), and this will be a powerful political signal. But it still means that Ukraine's accession to the EU may take a very long time" Volker noted.

Recall, on June 23, the European Council granted Ukraine the status of a candidate for joining the European Union. This decision was unanimously supported by all EU leaders during the summit in Brussels.