Ukraine is completing the completion of questionnaires on the status of a candidate for EU membership. How the consideration of her application will proceed, what the conclusion of the European Commission may be 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 the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for European Integration Olha Stefanyshina. What are these questionnaires for and how will Ukraine’s application for EU membership be considered further.
First Questionnaire for EU Candidate Status
The first questionnaire consists of political and economic parts. The first questions concern 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 and the rule of law function in Ukraine.
The second part is much shorter and tries to assess the state of the economy and finances, in particular, the business climate, the level 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 contains almost 370 questions on about 40 pages. Therefore, it is not surprising that the answers to it are collected in two thick volumes. Their President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky handed them over 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 norms in Ukraine
The second questionnaire, submitted on April 13, will take more time. After all, it is much larger: almost 240 pages with about two thousand questions. This part is about EU law called acquis.
The goal is to find out what legal norms and rules are in force in Ukraine and to what extent European legislation is implemented in it. The questions are divided into 33 chapters. These are the same chapters on which EU accession negotiations must subsequently be conducted, such as the freedom of movement of goods, the taxation system, or the environment and climate change.
The issue of the implementation of the EU legislation is not new for Ukraine, because Kyiv has been dealing with this for more than a year within the framework of the association agreement. For example, independent operators of electricity and gas supply systems already operate in the country.
And in foreign policy, Kyiv regularly joins the EU sanctions, not only against Russia, but also, for example, against Iran or Myanmar.
The war will also have its 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 transport 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 the situation in the country and (understand. – Ed.) whether it is fulfilling, for example , Copenhagen criteria”. Brussels is already processing Ukraine’s responses.
When von der Leyen brought the first part of the questionnaire to Kyiv, she promised: “We will expedite this process as much as possible, while at the same time ensuring that all conditions are met.”
European Commission spokeswoman Ana Pisonero confirmed in a comment to DW von der Leyen’s promise to “complete the conclusion within weeks, not years.” “We are not operating under normal circumstances,” she added.
In practice, the whole process runs in parallel: the Ukrainian authorities started preparing their responses even before they received the questionnaires. And while filling it out, officials in Kyiv and Brussels are in constant contact and can adjust the whole process so that the answers give exactly the information that the EC needs.
What conclusion on the application of Ukraine can the European Commission give?
Questionnaires and answers to them are confidential documents. But the EC publishes its conclusion – after it is approved by the board of European commissioners. Georgia and Moldova are also working on their responses to similar questionnaires.
What could be the conclusion of the European Commission? There are two possibilities. The first is to recommend the granting of candidate status. The second is to make a series of recommendations if Brussels officials decide the country is not ready.
This is exactly what happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The EC opinion in 2019 recognized it as insufficiently prepared and made 14 recommendations. This country is still considered only a potential candidate.
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 take into account the moment when the European Commission publishes this opinion, and I will decide when it is appropriate to put this topic on the agenda.”
The EC has no clear deadlines within which it is obliged to prepare an opinion. The end of June is an important landmark, 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 do not have time by June, then everything will be transferred to the fall.
From mid-July to the end of August in Brussels – the time of summer holidays, and the next regular EU summit is scheduled for late October. In order to be in time for the summer summit, the European Commission should publish its opinion in the first half-mid-June. Judging by the statements of the EC, this period is quite realistic.
“We are fully capable (to meet this deadline. – Ed.), and the European Commission is able to ensure that all procedures are completed before the summit in June,” Stefanishina said in an interview with Euractiv.
Is there a consensus in the EU on granting Ukraine candidate status?
A positive conclusion of the European Commission does not yet mean granting the status of a candidate for membership. After all, the issue will then move to the consideration of the EU member states. They are the ones who 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 at the table of the European Council on the principle of enlargement,” Charles Michel acknowledged in Kyiv.
And he assured that Brussels would act as quickly as possible, but only when the EU was ready for it. With his cautious statements, Michel may be hinting that the issue of the candidate’s status may not be considered at the June summit. After all, everything depends on the position of the EU member states, but so far there has been no unity among them.
Formally, the decision on whether to grant candidate status to Ukraine is made by the Council of the EU. But consent must necessarily be given 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 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 maximum rate, it will take many years.
Source: Russian service DW
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