Ukraine’s parliament adopts 99.9% of what EU requires to start accession talks

He wrote this on Telegram.

"Today we have completed the consideration of the law on national minorities and considered in the first reading the draft law on politically exposed persons (PEPs)," Arakhamia said.

Adoption of draft law №9269-d is a condition for Ukraine's accession to the European Union and receiving assistance from the International Monetary Fund.

The condition that enhanced financial monitoring of politically exposed persons is to be carried out only within 3 years after their dismissal from office was removed from the revised draft law.

At the same time, additional financial monitoring will not be applied to PEPs if more than 12 months have passed since their dismissal and their financial transactions and activities have been low-risk during this time.

"This is a specific document and there are many discussions about it, but I am sure that we will work on it and adopt it in the second reading in a few weeks," he emphasized.

"And that's it - the parliament has done its homework. We are passing the baton to the Cabinet of Ministers and will help the government in everything where our support is needed," Arakhamia said.

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.