Ukraine obtained the questionnaire to acquire the EU candidate status. It was given to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
As pointed out in the press service of Ukrainian Parliament, the said document is an important procedural step required from the state to obtain the status of a candidate for the EU accession.
“We have handed over our questionnaire... . This will be the picture of what is going on in the country, of whether the country complies with the Copenhagen criteria. It normally takes years, but we have agreed and undertaken obligations to work on this important step to get responses to the detailed questions…”, Ursula von der Leyen said during the press conference based on results of the meeting with the President of Ukraine.
The European Commission President pointed out that after the receipt of the completed questionnaire “the European Commission gives its opinion that, in fact, is a recommendation for the Council of the EU based on which it decides on the next steps.”
“This is where your path towards the European Union begins. We will be at your disposal for 24 hours a day, seven days a week… Ukraine is a friend, we know this very well. Ukraine shares our values. And due to our Association agreement, Ukraine is already closely aligned with our Union. So we will accelerate this process as much as we can, while ensuring that all conditions are respected”, von der Leyen added.
According to the European Commission President, the filling in of the questionnaire will take weeks rather than years, as it will be conducted under an accelerated procedure. Volodymyr Zelenskiy added that Ukraine would cope with that even faster – the responses would be ready in a week.
Note that on 8 April 2022, the European Commission President informed that Ukraine’s application to join the EU would be presented to the European Council this summer.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba has stated that, due to political and bureaucratic support, it will be Ukraine’s aim to undergo all the procedures required for the acquisition of the EC candidate status in a short time.