Ukraine may start EU accession talks in early 2024 — Ukraine’s official

First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Emine Dzhaparova said this in an interview with Radio Svoboda.

"There is no doubt that we are part of the European family... There are positive moves that have been made in the recent period, in particular, the opening of electronic declarations... Then there is the appointment of judges to the Constitutional Court, which should be open. This is also a decision that was made there. Now the implementation of this law is actually underway. Certain decisions were made on national minorities. So this process is ongoing. Technically, we are waiting for the interim, or rather, the European Commission's assessment. And I hope we can start negotiations on accession at the beginning of next year," the diplomat said.

As a reminder, the European Commission is due to publish its interim report in November.

Ukraine's accession to the EU

Kyiv applied for EU membership on February 28, 2022, at the start of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine.

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

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

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

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

However, on August 17, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said that Ukraine would not be able to implement all 7 EU recommendations by October, as these are changes that have been implemented over the years.

The next day, Maria Mezentseva, Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Ukraine's Integration with the EU, noted that it is necessary to wait for the October report of the European Commission on the implementation of 7 EU recommendations by Ukraine.

On August 28, European Council President Charles Michel said that the European Union should be ready to accept new member states by 2030. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, expressed support for setting a tentative time frame for new members to join the EU.

On September 8, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said that negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU should begin by the end of this year. According to him, clear European perspective will inspire Ukrainians on the battlefield.

On September 21, the head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, Davyd Arakhamia, said that the Ukrainian parliament has passed 99.9% of what is needed to start negotiations on EU membership.