Ukraine will not fulfill 7 EU recommendations by October, implementation needs years – Ukrainian official 

She made the statement at the “What does Ukraine's path to the EU look like?” conference, according to Suspilne.

The implementation of these recommendations is necessary to start negotiations on EU accession. Stefanishyna emphasizes that despite the impossibility of fulfilling all the conditions, Ukraine will ensure that all agreed legislative and institutional steps are taken by October.

"Today we will not hear that we have implemented all 7 recommendations by 100%, because we are talking about fundamental transformations in the country that are related to human rights, the process of de-oligarchization, which has also become one of the pillars of fundamental democratic reforms. These are changes that will take years to implement, but by October we will ensure that all agreed legislative and institutional steps are taken and hopefully open the door for a political solution," the official said.

Stefanishyna also emphasized that it is more difficult for Ukraine to join the EU because the country is "reforming the European Union."

"It's harder for us than for countries that chose to join the EU not because of the war, but because we are moving towards the EU, while reforming the EU itself," she said.

Ukraine's accession to the EU

Ukraine applied for EU membership on 28 February 2022 during the Russian-Ukrainian war. 

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.

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

Currently, Ukraine has to fulfill seven requirements of the European Commission, set in June 2022, necessary to maintain the candidate status:

• enact and implement legislation on a selection procedure for judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine;

• finalize the integrity vetting of the candidates for the High Council of Justice members by the Ethics Council and the selection of candidate to establish the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine;

• further strengthen the fight against corruption, complete the appointment of a new head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and complete the selection process and appointment for a new Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine;

• ensure that anti-money laundering legislation is in compliance with the standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF); adopt an overarching strategic plan for the reform of the entire law enforcement sector as part of Ukraine's security environment;

• implement the Anti-Oligarch law to limit the excessive influence of oligarchs in economic, political, and public life;

• adopt a media law that aligns Ukraine's legislation with the EU audio-visual media services directive;

• finalize the reform of the legal framework for national minorities.

Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk also noted that Ukraine is determined to join the EU before NATO and plans to start membership negotiations by the end of this year.

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

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

The Verkhovna Rada adopted a law clarifying the provisions on the competitive selection of candidates for the position of a judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.

Ruslan Stefanchuk said that the Verkhovna Rada plans to adopt all the laws necessary for negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU by September 1, 2023.