According to the regulations, the phase to analyze a request for accession to the EU can last more than a year, although European sources assure that in this case the process would be “significantly shorter”.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyhas signed this Monday a document with which formally requests the country’s accession to the European Unionthe start of a process that Kiev has asked to speed up in response to the Russian invasion, according to the Ukrinform news agency.
The Ukrainian president maintains constant contact with European leaders and for this reason in Brussels they are aware that the formal request for accession is in the “final phase of preparation” so it is expected to arrive “imminently”, according to sources. European.
The receipt of a formal request would activate the processes established by the European Treaties to examine an applicationa process open, according to article 49 of the EU Treaty, to any European country that respects the fundamental values of the EU and undertakes to promote them.
The request must be addressed to the Council, which, unanimously, must be the one to take the step of requesting an opinion on the application from the European Commission before the definitive decision return to the bosom of the Twenty-seven.
In any case, the sources consulted indicate the willingness to evaluate a possible request from Ukraine “very quickly” in the Council to decide if it is appropriate to ask the Community Executive for a “urgent opinion” about the specific case.
According to EU rules, once a request for membership reaches the Council of the EU, the presidency in turn, in this case France, should inform the rest of the partners and notify the request also to the European Parliament and the national parliaments. Next, the foreign affairs ministers would be in charge of evaluating the case and deciding whether to request the opinion of Brussels.
In the case of the Commission’s opinion, it is a phase that usually requires a between fifteen and eighteen monthsbut European sources point out that it is not a closed term and it can be extended or “significantly shorter” based on “political” considerations.
Source: Eitb
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