Some EU countries suggest Ukraine wait 10-20 years before joining: reasons given

Deputy Prime Minister for EU and NATO Accession Taras Kachka said that some European Union countries are suggesting that Ukraine wait 10-20 years before joining the EU. According to him, these states explain this position by the need to check the sustainability of the reforms carried out.

This is reported by RBC-Ukraine .

Kachka noted that some EU member states emphasize the need for time to build trust in the results of the reforms being carried out by Ukraine.

“Countries like Germany say: this is a super important story for us, we need trust. Therefore, you will make reforms, and we need a conditional 20 years for you to “stand your ground” so that we can make sure that everything works. This is not because we don’t want to accept you, we just need trust,” the deputy prime minister said.

He also explained that the long process of Balkan countries joining the European Union was related to the enlargement methodology at the time.

“Balkan countries took so long to join the EU because the “pre-war” methodology was built in such a way that it was not enough to make reforms, it was necessary to prove that they were irreversible,” Kachka noted.

According to him, during the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union, a special mechanism for monitoring and verifying the implementation of reforms was introduced.

“What can we do? We remember, and everyone remembers, that when Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU, a special CVM (Cooperation and Verification Mechanism) control and verification mechanism was created,” he said.

Kacca explained that even after Romania joined the EU, the European Commission continued to monitor the implementation of reforms and could restrict certain rights of the country. Currently, such instruments in the EU are called “safeguards.”

At the same time, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that Ukraine cannot afford to wait long to join the European Union.

“Maybe I’m exaggerating about 20 years, let’s say 10 years – but for us it’s an eternity. And that’s why this mechanism of safeguards and CVM is a completely normal story. However, it wasn’t discussed in detail. That’s why the media often oversimplifies the situation,” Kachka added.

Let us recall that at the end of February , the European Union handed over to Ukraine an official list of reforms that Kyiv must implement in order to join the bloc.

As previously reported, the Head of the European Union’s Foreign Policy Department, Kaia Kallas, stated that member states are not ready to determine a specific date for Ukraine’s accession to the union.

By the way, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stated that the country supports Ukraine’s accession to the European Union . At the same time, Rome considers the accession of the Balkan countries to the EU a priority.

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