Vice President of European Commission Arrives in Ukraine to Discuss Ukraine's Accession to EU

Vera Jourova, Vice-President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Values and Transparency, arrived in Kyiv on Monday. She has already discussed the process of Ukraine's accession to the European Union with members of the Verkhovna Rada. She announced this on the social network X.

"Quality and speed matter. Honored to discuss Ukraine's accession to the EU with Ukraine’s parliament representatives of all political groups," Jourova said.

The vice president also reminded that the European Commission had recommended that Kyiv work on four priority reforms by March 2024: anti-corruption, de-oligarchisation, regulating lobbying and minorities' rights.

In a report published on 8 November, the European Commission recommended that Kyiv start accession talks with the EU, but before that, Ukraine should implement some of the reforms that have not yet been implemented. The Ukrainian government says that Ukraine is highly prepared for accession and promises to complete the negotiations in two years.

The EU leaders' summit in December will consider whether to start accession talks with Ukraine. At the moment, Hungary may stand in the way of the green light, promising to block a positive decision for Kyiv.

As The Gaze previously reported, the State Secretary of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tamas Menczer has revealed the details of the upcoming national referendum in the country. Among other things, its participants will have the opportunity to express their opinion on Ukraine's membership in the European Union. Manipulating public opinion, Menczer claims that EU funds intended for Hungary will be redirected to support Ukraine, and that if Ukraine joins the EU, it will be allocated even more EU resources because of the war in the country.

Also on Monday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the North Atlantic Alliance member states would provide Ukraine with recommendations for accession. Stoltenberg stressed that the allies agree that Ukraine will become a NATO member in the future. "During our meeting, we will agree on recommendations for Ukraine's priority reforms, while continuing to support Kyiv on its path to membership," the NATO Secretary General said.

However, all Allies agree that Ukraine's full membership remains impossible amid the ongoing war, even though the avenues of cooperation between Ukraine and NATO remain open, Stoltenberg added.