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European Commission proposes draft framework for Ukraine's EU accession talks

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European Commission proposes draft framework for Ukraine's EU accession talks
EU flags in front of the European Commission building in Brussels, Belgium, on Dec. 28, 2023. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The European Commission on March 12 proposed a draft framework for the forthcoming negotiations on the possible accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU.

In its November 2023 report, the European Commission - the EU's executive arm - recommended the launch of accession talks with Kyiv but noted that several reforms are still needed, including an additional four reforms Ukraine would have to undertake to complete all the criteria.

The European Council then officially agreed in December 2023 to begin the talks.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Olha Stefanishyna, said on March 11 that all four recommendations had been fulfilled.

The proposed frameworks detail the "principles governing the accession negotiations, (the) substance of the negotiations, and (the) negotiations procedure."

The European Council will now begin internal debates on the proposal.

Once it is approved, the president of the European Council will then publicly present the agreed-upon negotiation framework, which will mark the official beginning of accession talks.

EU Commission VP: Ukraine’s membership to ‘take years,’ not decades
Ukraine’s accession to EU membership will take years rather than decades, Vera Jourova, the EU Commission’s vice-president, told Czech outlet Novinky in an interview published on Dec. 30.
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By infiltrating Ukrainian positions in small infantry groups, Russia has accumulated around 200 troops within Pokrovsk, the General Staff reported. These personnel are engaging in "intense" small arms and drone clashes with Ukrainian troops in the city.

While Ukraine also lacks Western-supplied weapons, soldiers and commanders say shortages of basics — cars, drones and people — make holding back Russia extremely difficult. Even as Kyiv seeks U.S. approval for Tomahawks, they say critical, rudimentary gear is the more pressing need.

Russia faces an increase in the arson and “spontaneous combustion” of electrical panels, railway relay cabinets, and other infrastructure helping Moscow wage its war against Ukraine over the past week, a source at Ukraine’s military intelligence told the Kyiv Independent.

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