The Finnish Prime Minister, , has stated that negotiations between the European Union (EU) and Ukraine on membership could potentially commence in December, based on his comments to Finnish multimedia company Yle.
Orpo remarked, “In my opinion, Ukraine has made significant progress in meeting the stipulated requirements.” This pertains to Ukraine’s potential admission into the European Union.
The Finnish government leader further added that a report assessing candidate countries’ progress in fulfilling EU membership criteria would be prepared within a week.
According to Reuters, a decision regarding whether to initiate formal membership negotiations with Ukraine is expected to be made during a December 14-15 EU leaders’ summit.
As a part of the accession process, Kyiv was presented with seven criteria that it must fulfill to initiate membership talks.
In September, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna stated that Ukraine had already fulfilled the EU’s recommendations concerning necessary legislative work in the judiciary and media sectors, with ongoing reforms in other areas.
Ukraine officially submitted its application for EU membership in late February 2022, and it was granted candidate status in June of the following year.
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