According to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, based on the results of his visit to Ukraine, Kyiv and Brussels must each fulfil their part of the work to implement the EU enlargement strategy until 2030.
What is known about the prospects of Ukraine's membership in the EU and the decision to start negotiations
It is our duty on both sides to prepare for 2030. This does not mean that new members will automatically appear in 2030. This means that by 2030 we must be ready on both sides. This means that the EU must carry out the necessary reforms to make sure that we are influential, that we are flexible, ready to act and react when necessary, from the EU side, Michel said.
According to him, the candidate countries for membership should be convinced and do everything for this, so there are no doubts about full compliance with EU standards.
This is necessary for the subsequent adoption of fundamental decisions regarding the admission of new members to the EU.
Among the tasks facing the EU itself this term, he singled out, in particular, the reform of the decision-making mechanism in the EU: should they be adopted unanimously, by a qualified majority, etc.
What Michel says about the decision to start negotiations with Ukraine
Michel noted that he believes that in December, at the planned summit of the EU countries, a decision will be made on the start of negotiations with Ukraine regarding the accession.
I am fairly convinced that we need to, we need to take a positive decision, and we need to convince all the Member States. And this is not a "yes" or "no" decision, because there is a Commission report. There are certain nuances that we need to take into account, but I sincerely hope that we will make a positive decision, send a positive signal, President of the European Council said.
He emphasized that this is a critical decision for Ukraine, which will demonstrate that the EU is a serious and reliable partner of Kyiv not only in words but also in deed. And it will also show the Kremlin that the European Union is not intimidated and will not allow security on the European continent to be jeopardized.
However, Charles Michel warned that the December summit would be difficult, not only because of starting negotiations with Ukraine but also because of the need to revise the EU budget for the next four years, which provides 50 billion euros for military aid to Ukraine.
Ukrainians can count on the fact that I, and not just me, many European leaders will work hard to prepare for these difficult debates in December, Michel emphasized.
Michel also emphasized that it would be good for Ukraine to show additional achievements before the December meeting of the European Council, in particular in the field of education legislation.
He probably meant the rights of national minorities.
What is known about security guarantees to Ukraine from the EU
Charles Michel noted that the EU is currently working on security guarantees for Ukraine.
He promised that the first report on this issue will be published in December.
We are working on security guarantees for Ukraine, and that is why High Representative Borrell was instructed to start official consultations with Ukraine and with our member states, President of the European Council emphasized.
Michel added that there will be a first report on the topic in December. It may not be decisive, but it will show that they are doing an assessment and working on the issue of security guarantees.
The President of the European Council also added that the strengthening of Europe's military-industrial complex and the training of more Ukrainian soldiers in the EU are also security guarantees for Ukraine.
