Costa described Ukraine’s progress towards EU as "remarkable"
The President of the European Council, António Costa, described Ukraine’s progress towards European Union membership as "remarkable". He emphasised that Kyiv is implementing the necessary reforms and meeting the requirements for accession despite the ongoing full-scale war.
According to Censor.NET, Koshta stated this following a meeting of the ‘coalition of the willing’ in Kyiv on 24 August, as reported by ‘European Truth’.
Ukraine’s accession is a geopolitical priority for the EU
Koshta emphasised that the accession of Ukraine, Moldova and the countries of the Western Balkans is a geopolitical priority for the European Union. At the same time, the enlargement process remains contingent upon candidate countries meeting the specified criteria.
"As this is a geopolitical priority, it also means that both the European Union and the candidate countries must recognise the urgency of this process. In other words, everyone must work harder and faster to meet the criteria and move forward," he said.
According to the President of the European Council, implementing the reforms required for full EU membership is particularly challenging during a war.
"What Ukraine is doing is remarkable"
Commenting on the possibility of further accelerating Ukraine’s accession to the EU, Koshta noted that, under the current circumstances, it is difficult to envisage a faster pace.
"I come from a country that spent nine years negotiating its accession process. And we were at peace. Can you imagine going through this process in two or three years in the midst of a war? I think what Ukraine is doing is remarkable," emphasised Costa.
Ukraine currently has two clusters open in its negotiations on accession to the European Union – ‘Fundamentals’ and ‘External Relations’. The timetable for opening the remaining four clusters remains uncertain, partly due to Hungary’s position.
