Ukraine's plans on the way to the EU: the conference must take place under any conditions

Ukraine is working hard to ensure that the intergovernmental conference for negotiations on accession to the European Union takes place in June. Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna assured that the Ukrainian side is ready for any scenario in order for this conference to take place.

Stefanyshyn emphasized that Ukraine has plans B, C and D in case of any unforeseen circumstances, and insisted that the conference must take place. She added that Ukraine is conducting active negotiations with all EU member states on this issue.

In particular, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the support of the European Commission in holding this conference. According to Stefanyshina, the Ukrainian government team is already preparing for the meeting scheduled for June 25-27.

However, there is a certain obstacle in the way of these plans in the form of the position of Hungary, which has not yet agreed to start negotiations. Although EU leaders expressed their desire for Ukraine and Moldova to join the union last December, the formal legal procedure to start negotiations has been delayed by Hungary's position.

Currently, diplomats from the EU and Kyiv are intensively working to convince the Hungarian government to agree to the start of negotiations. The goal of these efforts is to start official negotiations as early as June 25.

The next important step in the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU is the start of official negotiations through an intergovernmental conference. For this, the EU countries must agree on the so-called framework of negotiations. Since March of this year, when the European Commission sent this document, 27 EU capitals have been negotiating about it. According to diplomats, negotiations at the technical level are going well, and a new draft of the document will be sent to EU ambassadors in the coming weeks.

On March 12, the European Commission approved the negotiating framework for the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the European Union. Olha Stefanishyna reported that Ukraine has successfully implemented the four recommendations of the European Commission necessary to obtain this framework. All the necessary legislation, including the regulation of lobbying, has already been approved at the domestic level.

Therefore, Ukraine continues to actively prepare for the intergovernmental conference in order to ensure further progress on the path to EU membership. Despite the difficulties, the Ukrainian side is confident in its abilities and is ready for any challenges that may arise along the way.