The month of June was the scene of a “succession of historical events which will change Ukraine and its place in the world”, declares Prime Minister Denys Chmyhal, quoted by the daily Gazeta. “The first of these events was the peace summit [les 15 et 16 juin en Suisse]. A unique event that opened a realistic path towards a just peace. The second is the start of discussions on integration into the European Union,” he adds.
The conclusion of a long journey
When the news was announced, President Volodymyr Zelensky issued numerous enthusiastic statements, thanking, among other things, “all members of our team who worked tirelessly to make this milestone a reality, indicates on its website the newspaper Facts. Millions of Ukrainians […] realize their European dream”. Facts gives a brief chronological reminder of the steps which led to this result:
“Ukraine applied to become a member of the Union from February 28, 2022. On June 23 of the same year, the EU Council granted Ukraine the status of candidate for integration. In December 2023, Brussels gave kyiv the green light to start official talks.”
Zelensky took the opportunity to greet Moldova, which is also due to begin discussions on June 25, “for this important step on the path to our common European future. Together we will make the EU stronger”.
The Ukrainian president goes even further, comments the news channel 24. He thus “expressed the hope that one day, free Belarus would in turn enter Europe”. Car “the EU is necessary for all Europeans, without exception. For every nation that shares the values common to all of Europe and wishes to live – like us – in peace,” he said.
We had to get ahead of Viktor Orban
Zelensky is deja vu “approved the composition of the delegation which will travel to Luxembourg on June 25 for negotiations on integration”, reports the information site Glaucoma. A team of around thirty people including Andriy Iermak, the director of the presidential office, under the direction of Olha Stefanichyna, deputy prime minister in charge of issues related to European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
However, this date of June 25 “is really essential”, explain Evropeiska Pravda, the variation of daily life online Oukraïnska Pravda dedicated to Europe. It was indeed important that the decision was taken under the Belgian presidency, continues Evropeiska Pravda :
“From 1is July, Hungary assumes the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU. This significantly increases political risks and could lead to further delays in the procedure.”
“kyiv was aware of this. The Hungarian president is known for his unreasoned blocking of all decisions relating to Ukraine,” writes the site, which invites its readers to be patient, even if the discussions start soon. EU enlargement presents “a particularity that Ukrainians perhaps do not necessarily understand: this process is not the fastest”. Et “even if many procedures have been accelerated for Ukraine […], in any case, we must be prepared for negotiations on integration to take time. If their start, in June, is of historic importance, the road on which Ukraine and the EU are now truly embarking is still long”.
