Vice-President of the EC for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová answered, when questioned whether the process of Ukraine’s accession to the EU is a matter of years or decades, that “I would prefer to talk about years”.
“We have identified several areas in which the candidate states can get closer to the Union without being its members. The states can connect with the EU through digital, energy, and transport links, the candidate country can access the European market. Ukraine can get all this before it becomes a member of the EU,” Jourová said.
She also believes that, from a moral point of view, it would be very problematic to tell Ukraine to settle its territorial problems first and then talk about accession.
“It is correct that the efforts of Ukrainians go in two directions. On the one hand, these are extraordinary efforts to win the war, even though the resources on the Russian side are much greater, especially human. At the same time, Ukraine is doing an incredible job of implementing reforms, which it needs and longs for in war conditions,” she said.