Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Friday 3 February that his country intends to open negotiations for EU membership this year. The Commission is due to make an oral report in April on Ukraine’s progress, followed by a written report as part of the enlargement package to be presented in the autumn.
“The aim is to start accession negotiations this year”, he said after the EU/Ukraine summit in Kyiv, attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel. “This is our primary objective”, he added.
The day before, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Chmyhal said the aim was to be ready for negotiations by the end of the year and for accession the following year, i.e. 2024.
The joint statement issued at the end of the summit is more cautious. It states that “Ukraine underlined its determination to meet the necessary requirements in order to start accession negotiations as soon as possible”. “The EU will decide on further steps once all conditions specified in the Commission's opinion are fully met”, the document adds.
While highlighting Ukraine’s “impressive determination”, von der Leyen noted that reforms should not only be adopted, but also implemented and monitored.
But whatever the declaration, von der Leyen or Michel, they all welcomed Ukraine’s efforts to implement reforms in the context of war, encouraging them to continue. “Ukraine has made considerable efforts and progress, particularly in judicial reform and the fight against corruption. We encourage Ukraine to continue strengthening the rule of law”, Michel stressed.
Continued support for Ukraine
Beyond the issue of enlargement, the leaders discussed the support of the EU and its Member States for Ukraine. “The EU will support you in every way possible, for as long as it takes”, Michel reiterated to Zelensky.
The leaders discussed the reconstruction of the country. According to Chmyhal, €17 billion would be needed for rapid reconstruction. The EU is currently working to make available €1 billion to start this rapid reconstruction (see EUROPE 13113/1). “Russia should pay to rebuild Ukraine, which it has destroyed”, Michel added, while the EU is still considering how to confiscate the frozen assets.
In the joint statement, the EU also supports the Ukrainian President’s peace formula initiative and underlines its commitment to work actively with Ukraine on the ten-point peace plan.
In the meantime, Zelensky called for acceleration in the delivery of arms, as “Russia is trying to change the situation on the front line”. “The more we have, the more we can supply the artillery. Modern battle tanks, fighter jets... The sooner we stop Russia’s aggression, the more guarantees we will have for the protection of European defence”, he explained.
Strengthening sanctions
Economic pressure on Russia was also mentioned. “We talked about the problem of missiles from Russia, the energy sector, sanctions to cover the nuclear sphere. It is important to avoid any vagueness in the sanctions”, summarised Zelensky.
While Michel said that “the EU must and will do more”, von der Leyen gave indications regarding the 10th sanctions package, which is currently under discussion. “The plan is to focus on technologies that could and must not be used by the Russian war machine, to look more deeply into the components of drones so that the Russians cannot use them”, she explained, adding that the EU would also focus on sanctions circumventions.
Bringing the most senior officials to justice
As investigations into war crimes continue in Ukraine and elsewhere, the summit was an opportunity to note that it is now also a question of bringing to justice those most responsible for the war, and this requires a mechanism to judge the crime of aggression. “We are currently discussing the best institutional structure for this”, said von der Leyen. The EU and Ukrainian leaders add in their joint statement that “Ukraine emphasised its preference for establishing a Special Tribunal”.
Pending a common position and international support for a specific type of tribunal (see EUROPE 13109/1), the EU notes in the declaration its willingness to establish an “International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA)” in The Hague. This coordination centre, to be precise, will be supported by Eurojust and formed within the existing Joint Investigation Team (JIT). It will be able to facilitate the efforts of countries that have ongoing investigations into the crime of aggression, but will not investigate as such, as Eurojust President Ladislav Hamran explained to EUROPE (see EUROPE 13109/2).
See the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/589
Ukraine on the agenda at EU summit
In addition, the Heads of State and Government are expected to return to the situation in Ukraine at their summit on Thursday 9 and Friday 10 February.
According to draft conclusions obtained by EUROPE, they will once again condemn Russian aggression and reiterate their support for Ukraine, including on reconstruction and through new sanctions against Russia, and accountability.
The leaders could also encourage Ukraine to continue its reform efforts on its way to European integration and support the Ukrainian president’s peace formula. See the draft conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/57w (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Léa Marchal)