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

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.

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk