Ukraine expects EU-wide support for candidacy to join bloc

Ukraine expects EU-wide support for candidacy to join bloc
# 22 June 2022 20:40 (UTC +04:00)

A Ukrainian official overseeing the country’s push to join the European Union said Wednesday that she’s “100%” certain all 27 EU nations will approve Ukraine’s EU candidacy during a summit this week, APA reports citing Associated Press.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed similar optimism, calling it a “crucial moment” for Ukraine. Ukraine’s membership bid is the top order of business for EU leaders meeting in Brussels.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said the decision could come as soon as Thursday, when the leaders’ summit starts.

Stefanishyna said the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark had been skeptical about starting accession talks with Ukraine while it is fighting Russia's offensive but are now supportive. Asked how confident she was that Ukraine would be accepted as an EU candidate, she said: “The day before the summit starts, I can say 100%.”

The EU’s executive arm threw its weight behind Ukraine’s candidacy last week. Stefanishyna described the European Commission’s endorsement as “a game-changer” that had cut the ground from under “the legs of those most hesitating.”

She described the decision as vitally important for Ukraine as its fights for survival against Russia and said candidacy status would validate decades of effort by the country to bring its institutions and markets up to EU norms.

“It’s very important for us to set it in stone that we did so much, and we will do much more. And in the time of war -- when everything is operating -- it’s very important,” Stefanishyna said.

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