On Tuesday 21 November, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed the hope that his country would be able to begin negotiations on EU membership in December.
“We believe that the EU will be ready to play its part (...) so that by the end of the year, in December, there will be a political decision to start accession negotiations and move forward with the process of full integration”, he stressed, alongside the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the Moldovan President, Maia Sandu, who had come to Kyiv to mark the tenth anniversary of the Maidan protests.
The European Council is due to decide in December whether or not to open EU accession negotiations with Ukraine, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán could oppose the move.
Mr Michel promised that he would spare no effort to support the ambitions of both Ukraine and Moldova, underlining the “impressive” progress made by both countries, and that he would do everything in his power to convince his colleagues “that a decision must be taken in December”.
According to Maia Sandu, the forthcoming opening of accession negotiations would also send a message to Moscow. She also warned that, although the Transnistria issue needed to be resolved, it should not block her country’s accession, as this would “give the Kremlin the power of veto”.
Looking beyond the accession process, Mr Michel reiterated that the EU would support Ukraine “for as long as it takes”, explaining that support to date amounted to €85 billion, and that the Member States were discussing a further €50 billion. He also highlighted the military support and recalled that the EU was working on a twelfth package of sanctions against Russia. The President of the European Council also said that the EU would continue to help Moldova build its resilience.
For her part, Ms Sandu urged the “free world” to continue to support Ukraine for as long as necessary, “until victory”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)