Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo says that negotiations between the EU and Ukraine regarding membership of the union could begin as early as December, according to comments he made to Finnish multimedia company Yle.
"In my view, Ukraine has made considerable progress in meeting the requirements set before it," said Orpo, referring to Ukraine's potential accession into the European Union.
The Finnish government leader added that a report would be prepared within a week on how candidate countries have advanced in meeting the criteria for EU accession.
It is expected that a decision on whether to launch formal membership negotiations with Ukraine be made during a Dec. 14-15 summit of EU leaders, according to Reuters.
As part of the accession process, Kyiv was presented with seven criteria it needs to fulfill in order to begin the membership talks.
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said in September that Ukraine had already "fulfilled the EU recommendations on the necessary legislative work in the judicial and media spheres," adding that the reforms in other areas are ongoing.
Ukraine officially applied for EU membership in late February 2022 and was granted candidate status in June of last year.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
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