Shortly before the European Union summit in Brussels, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed confidence that Ukraine will acquire the status of a candidate for EU membership, writes FOCUS Online.
"I firmly believe that we will get an affirmative answer, we will get support, the course has already been set," von der Leyen said Sunday night on the ARD talk show.
"Of course, this is a historic decision that the European Council has to make now, but the preparations are going well," she said, adding, "I am sure."
Von der Leyen stressed that the European Commission's decision on Ukraine's candidacy status is based on data, facts and the preparatory work the country has done over the past eight years. "Ukraine has made a huge step forward in recent years," she noted. However, she said, "we want to see more reforms."
Von der Leyen said it is up to the applicant country itself to determine whether and how quickly the admission will be successful. "It is up to all these countries how fast the process goes, and they have to make the necessary reforms, they have to demonstrate a commitment to the European Union. Then the process will go more quickly, it is not a process that is completely rigid," she added.
Note that on June 17, the European Commission supported the official nomination of Ukraine and Moldova as candidates for membership of the European Union. On Thursday and Friday, 27 EU countries will discuss this recommendation in Brussels, as well as Georgia's application for membership, which, according to the European Commission, still has to achieve the conditions for obtaining the status. Member states do not yet have a unified position on the matter. The Austrian government, for example, wants Bosnia and Herzegovina to have candidate status. Romania wants Georgia on board.
