Approval of negotiations for Ukraine's accession to EU expected in June, Deputy PM Stefanishyna says

The decision to approve the negotiation framework and the first intergovernmental conference, which will give a start to the negotiation process regarding Ukraine's accession to the European Union, is expected in the second half of June 2024, announced Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration Olga Stefanishyna during the telethon.

Ukraine is preparing for it and the first advanced delegation from the EU is already in Ukraine.

"We have an understanding of how to proceed. Now we are trying to avoid certain sensitive issues and not create the possibility of certain speculation in Ukraine. This is, in principle, the tactics of European countries that want to attract, for example, other countries by using Ukraine, or to get some benefits for themselves. We follow the situation very carefully and react where necessary," she said.

In particular, Stefanishyna emphasized that Ukraine has a clear majority among EU leaders, including the Belgian presidency, which is preparing for a decision in June.

"The active phase of preparation will begin in the second half of May, and then we will see more clearly who is radical, for example, like Prime Minister [Viktor] Orbán in December. But we are already building our plans in advance to counteract such negative consequences or positions," the official concluded.

On February 28, 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed an application for Ukraine's membership in the European Union.

On December 14, 2023, the EU decided to start accession negotiations with Ukraine.
On January 26, 2024, Zelenskyy announced the start of work on assessing the compliance of Ukrainian legislation with EU norms.

On February 21, 2024, Ursula von der Leyen stated that the draft negotiation framework for Ukraine's accession to the EU is unlikely to be prepared before June.

On March 4, PM Denys Shmyhal expressed the opinion that the EU will not wait for formalities and will grant Ukraine membership in a few years.