It may take Ukraine at least 6 years to join the European Union. This is how long it took Austria to join. This was stated by the EU Ambassador to Austria Martin Selmayr in an interview with Kleine Zeitung.
He noted that the EU accession process has a stabilizing function. Ukraine also has an additional perspective from NATO.
"The EU accession process has a stabilizing function. History has shown this. Portugal, Spain and Greece joined the EU shortly after they got rid of dictatorships. Of course, with Ukraine there is an additional security perspective from NATO countries," the diplomat said.
Selmayr rejected the idea that Ukraine's accession to the EU could take decades. In his opinion, Ukraine will need 6 to 11 years to join.
"It took Austria six years, Spain eleven. Ukraine may be somewhere in between," Selmayr said when asked about the terms of Ukraine's accession to the EU.
The ambassador added that thanks to the Association Agreement, Ukraine has already implemented 70% of EU legislation. But there is still a lot of work to be done, including the independence of the judicial system and improving the efficiency of governance.
