Collective European sigh in Cyprus: EU leaders meeting in the Cypriot town of Ayia Napa have greeted with relief the approval of the loan and a new package of sanctions against Russia that allows them, after the lifting of the Hungarian veto, to finally declare mission accomplished. But Brussels does not want to stop taking advantage of the momentum created with the electoral defeat of and the foreseeable end of Budapest’s constant veto of any step in favor of kyiv and has urged to advance once and for all in the entry of Ukraine into the European family, opening the first round of negotiations to complete the process, although for now there is no date for this.
With the approval of the loan and the sanctions, just before the arrival of the European leaders in Cyprus (except for Orbán, who is absent), “two very important steps have been taken to achieve a just and lasting peace for Ukraine”, celebrated the President of the European Council, .
However, he stressed, we must continue doing more. “Now is the time to look forward and prepare the next step. And the next step is to start the first round of negotiations for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union,” he added, accompanied by the Ukrainian president, and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who has in turn expressed confidence in being able to release the first tranche of the vital loan to maintain kyiv and its war efforts against Russia “this same quarter” of the year.
Diplomatic sources estimate that, with everything already prepared – all that was left was for Hungary to lift the veto it imposed for months, alleging that to do so Ukraine had to reactivate the one through which it receives oil and which was damaged at the beginning of the year in a Russian attack – it would be possible to deliver the first funds in May or, at the latest, in June, dates that kyiv also manages.
A jubilant Zelensky, whose presence in Ayia Napa was confirmed only when it became clear that he could celebrate with his European allies the long-awaited unlocking of funds and new sanctions, the twentieth package also withheld since February by Hungary and Slovakia, has also celebrated the commitment to advance in the accession negotiations, a demand that he already launched on the eve of his arrival in Cyprus.
“We will talk to the leaders of Europe also about the opening of clusters for Ukraine: the conditions for this have already been met,” he said from kyiv about the thematic areas (clusters) that group up to 35 chapters that cover all EU legislation. These range from guarantees around the rule of law to economic reforms that allow the candidate country to be ready to enter the internal market.
Stalled negotiations
Since the beginning of , in February 2022, the EU has been aware that admitting the attacked country into the European family was one of the most forceful gestures of support for kyiv against Vladimir Putin and his war offensive at the gates of Europe. In record time, Ukraine formally became a candidate country in June of that year and, 18 months later, in December 2023, at another European summit, the opening of negotiations for its integration into the community club was approved.
However, it was a political agreement, a first step that was more symbolic than effective and that required a formal process that never came due to the constant blockade of Orbán, considered the main – although not the only – Russian Trojan horse within the Twenty-Seven. His departure now after his electoral defeat on April 12 has opened a window of opportunity that the other leaders seem willing not to miss.
The Cypriot president and host of the meeting, Nikos Christodoulides, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council this semester, assured at the beginning of the meeting that he is willing to “open the clusters if the political conditions are met.” Of course, without a specific official calendar – some States advocated concluding the accession in 2027 – due to the reluctance of several countries to accelerate a process that, they emphasize, must be “based on merits” and cannot be done “on the fast track”, as the Belgian Prime Minister, Bart De Wever, has said.
“There is a future for Ukraine in the European family (…) but it is too early to set an accession date,” has also declared the Dutch Prime Minister, Rob Jetten, who has advocated seeking “creative ways” so that both Ukraine and other candidates “can be part of the European family.” But without shortcuts, he stressed: “Full membership can only be given when all the criteria are met.”
When asked whether it is possible to launch an accelerated procedure for Ukraine, the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas, recalled that there are “several proposals on the table” that can be debated. “But, for now, the process is as planned for everyone else, unless we agree otherwise,” he added.
