“In any case, all four of us support Ukraine’s immediate accession to the European Union,” Macron said after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zeleny in Kiev, where he was with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Maria Draghi and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
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Ukraine applied to join the EU in March shortly after being attacked by Russian troops on February 24. The European Council, where the status of Ukraine will be decided, will take place on 22 and 23 June. There is no certain unanimous agreement among EU countries to be granted a candidate position. While countries geographically closer to Ukraine are in favor, several Western European countries are questioning doubts.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Germany also supported the granting of candidate status for accession to the EU and the Republic of Moldova.
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“Germany is in favor of a positive decision in favor of Ukraine. This also applies to the Republic of Moldova, “Scholz said, adding:” Ukraine is part of the European family. “
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Preparation for entry takes years
Preparing for a country’s accession to the EU is a complex process that usually takes not only months but also several years. Once a candidate country meets the conditions for membership, it must incorporate EU rules into its legal system in all areas.
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The conditions are known as the “Copenhagen criteria” and include the existence of a functioning market economy, a stable democratic system, the rule of law and the adoption of all EU legislation.
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A country wishing to join the Union will apply for membership of the European Council. It will ask the European Commission to assess the country’s readiness to meet the Copenhagen criteria. If the Commission’s opinion is positive, the Council will agree on a negotiating mandate. After that, the discussion of individual areas is formally started.
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It takes quite a long time to close the negotiations, as each candidate country has to implement a huge number of EU rules and regulations in its national legal order. During this pre-accession period, financial, administrative and technical assistance is provided to candidate countries.
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Among the candidate countries that have been in the process of integrating Union law into their legal systems for years are, for example, Albania, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey.
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