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Le Monde
Le Monde
2 Dec 2023


Images Le Monde.fr

Vera Jourova, the European Commission vice president responsible for values and transparency, has just returned from Kyiv. In an interview with Le Monde, the former Czech minister (Liberal Democrat) judges that, by the time the European Council meets in Brussels on December 14 and 15, Ukraine will have fulfilled all the conditions required by the EU-27 to open accession negotiations.

No. Let's not wait until March. When the Commission made this proposal in November, it was thought that Kyiv would need a few more months to meet the criteria set by the EU-27. I've just returned from Kyiv. From what I've seen, there are still things to be done in terms of fighting corruption and protecting minorities, but Ukraine is determined and will be ready by mid-December. In two weeks time, the Commission will tell European leaders that Ukraine meets all the conditions for opening accession negotiations without delay.

So far, Mr. Orban has made a lot of noise, but he hasn't prevented the EU-27 from sanctioning Russia, nor Ukraine from drawing closer to the European Union [EU]. We need to ask ourselves why he is considering a veto.

In the long term, it's clear that Ukraine must win the war and join the EU. But this strategic debate on the future of Ukraine and the relationship between the EU and Russia is necessary, and the heads of state and government should have it. Because it's not easy for them to convince their citizens that Kyiv needs to be helped, financially and militarily. But we mustn't forget that Russia is imperialist and that what happens to Ukraine could happen to EU member states.

We need to gradually open the EU's doors to Ukraine. We can do very concrete things before Ukraine becomes a member, in terms of technology, energy, infrastructure. Furthermore, the EU should talk to Kyiv on an equal footing during the accession negotiations, by listening to it.

When my country, the Czech Republic, was negotiating to join the EU, I sometimes felt like a student, ready to accept anything to join the European club. We were enthusiastic, but we didn't put the issues that needed to be on the table. Twenty years on, that's still causing us problems. It's dangerous for the future.

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