Ukraine seeks to start negotiations on joining the European Union in order to be ready to join the EU before the end of the war.
Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishyna said this live on Ukraine's Espreso TV channel, Ukrinform reports.
"After our victory, a decision on Ukraine's membership in NATO can be made very quickly. I can confirm that such a decision requires only the political consensus of all 30 allies," she said.
She added that the decision to join the EU should be primarily in the interests of Ukraine.
"There is no need to rush politically here. This is a lengthy process. Our political task is that we, politicians and government officials, must work at 200% so that by the end of the war we have maximum readiness and formed negotiating positions. So that when the war ends, we do not waste time on process, but could proceed to the adoption of political decisions. We are in a hurry to start negotiations in 2023 in order to prepare as much as possible and conduct them as quickly as possible and be ready to join the EU by the end of the war. The speed of the process depends, to a large extent, on the EU and, to a certain extent, on ourselves," Stefanishyna said.
In June 2022, the European Council adopted a decision to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate country for joining the European Union. The EU leaders made a similar decision with respect to Moldova.
According to Stefanishyna, as of February 2023, Ukraine has fulfilled more than 70% of its commitments under the Association Agreement with the EU.
