Policy Brief Ukraine: - ACCESSION OF UKRAINE TO THE EU –

it is generally understood that it is Ukraine itself The oral update2 provided by the E u ropean that will benefit the most from the reforms, Commission to the European Council in the it is difficult to imagine that legislation of this summer of 2023 is meant, in part, to give kind would have been adopted in the current Ukraine a sense of how the EU is assessing situation if not for the EU conditi. [...] The stagnation of the process of to block the process leading to a given coun- EU accession for the candidate countries in try’s accession for reasons unrelated to the the Western Balkans changed the perception accession methodology. [...] a recent study5 shows that implementing In Ukraine, the debates on the reform of the reforms is not enough to guarantee progress: EU are seen in a positive light, however, Kyiv is 4 advancing on the path towards membership sticking to the position that the reform of the also requires the existence of corresponding EU and the accession process can and should political will in the EU. [...] The dispute INPUT PAPER ACCESSION OF UKRAINE TO THE EU – WHAT NOW? WHAT NEXT? November 2023 by Leonid Litra, the New Europe Centere WHY ADVANCING ON THE PATH TOWARD EU ACCESSION IS OF EXISTENTIAL IMPORTANCE TO UKRAINE NOW Ukraine’s commitment to implementing The risks of not offering Ukraine a real possibility reforms even in the midst of the war should be to complete the EU accession process woul. [...] The diligent implementation of the seven steps laid out by the EU, together with the candidate status, ticks all the boxes for the EU to start of the accession negotiations with Ukraine.