Ukraine can become EU member in a year if it fulfills all conditions - international expert Dobriak

This was stated by international expert Yevhen Dobriak during an interview with Espreso.

"We have actually fulfilled all seven recommendations of the European Commission in order to start the last stage before joining the EU. This is the negotiation stage. As of today, there is still the reform of the Constitutional Court and the issue of anti-corruption policy. They were also raised very painfully regarding NATO membership," he said.

Dobriak added that we have to do all this - it is our strategic task.

"If we do this, we will start negotiations at the end of the year, and we have some chances to become an EU member in the short term. I think we can become an EU member in about a year. If we do everything clearly, there are no obstacles," the expert concluded.

What is known about Ukraine's accession to the EU

On 28 February 2022, Ukraine applied to the European Union for immediate accession under a special procedure.

On 23 June 2022, Ukraine was granted candidate status for EU membership.

In May, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine should be ready to join the European Union in two years - the country expects to receive a political decision to start accession negotiations this year.

According to Espreso's sources, the European Parliament is considering the possibility of starting negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU this autumn.

Currently, Ukraine has to fulfil seven requirements set by the European Commission in June 2022 to maintain its candidate status:

• Complete the reform of the selection of judges to the Constitutional Court;
• continue judicial reform, including integrity checks of members of the High Council of Justice (HCJ) and select candidates for the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ)
• Continue the fight against corruption, appoint the heads of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU);
• continue the fight against money laundering and law enforcement reform;
• fight the influence of oligarchs;
• bring media legislation in line with European audiovisual legislation;
• amend the legislation on national minorities.

The Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, also noted that Ukraine is set to join the EU before NATO and plans to start membership negotiations by the end of this year.

On 19 June, foreign media reported that the European Commission had assessed Ukraine as having fulfilled two of the seven conditions for the start of EU membership negotiations, while Brussels noted the progress made despite Russia's full-scale war.

During a speech in parliament on Constitution Day, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed five points of the Ukrainian Doctrine for discussion.  

On 4 July, President Zelenskyy and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez signed a joint declaration, which, among other things, notes Spain's unwavering support for Ukraine's initiative to join the EU and NATO.

On the same day, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Ukraine and a number of other countries should join the EU to reduce the influence of Russia and China.