EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged on Friday to offer Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a speedier start to Ukraine’s bid to become a member of the European Union.
As reported by France24 last Friday, during a visit to Kyiv, Ursula von der Leyen handed Zelensky a questionnaire which will form a starting point for the EU to decide on membership for Kyiv.
Von der Leyen said: “It will not as usual be a matter of years to form this opinion (about EU membership) but I think a matter of weeks.” Zelensky said he would come back with answers to the questionnaire within a week.
Ukraine has been attempting to gain EU membership since 1993.
On 28 February 2022, Ukraine officially submitted a letter of application for EU membership.
Eight EU states signed a letter supporting an accelerated accession process for Ukraine.
On 1 March, Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó stated his country would also support an accelerated process.
On 1 March 2022, the European Parliament, following a debate in which the President of Ukraine addressed and received applause, recommended that Ukraine be made an official “candidate” for EU membership.
The European Parliament has voted to advance Ukraine’s membership with 637 voted for, with 13 voted against, and 26 abstained.
On 2 March, however, Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares stated that “belonging to the EU is not a capricious process or one that can be done by a mere political decision”, reminding EU members that the candidate country “must meet certain social, political and economic standards”.
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