European Commission does not know when negotiations on Ukraine's accession to EU will begin
The European Commission intends to submit to the Council of the European Union a draft mandate for negotiations with Ukraine on its admission to the community in March, but the exact timing of approval of this proposal is still unknown – as stated by the European Commission’s Chief Spokesperson, Eric Mamer, TASS reports
“The European Commission intends to submit the regulation on negotiations to the EU Council as early as possible, we intend to do this by the end of March. But we don't know when the Council will approve it, it's a matter for the EU Council,” Eric Mamer noted.
Earlier, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, while announcing in Germany her intention to head the next composition of the European Commission, stated that the start of negotiations with Ukraine is expected after the elections to the European Parliament, which will be held on June 6th-9th, 2024.
At the EU summit in December 2023, when the leaders of the 27 EU countries supported the start of negotiations on Ukraine's admission to the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen noted that these negotiations would begin in March.
According to European experts, the European Commission intends to postpone the start of negotiations with Ukraine for the period after the elections, so that this event does not undermine the electoral results of key pro-European parties of the European Union.
The start of negotiations on the country's admission to the European Union does not define any time frame for the country's accession to the EU. Thus, Türkiye began negotiations on joining the community more than 18 years ago, but to date there is no prospect of its accession to the European Union.
