China News Service, Beijing, June 24 (Sweet) On June 23, local time, Ukraine finally got the "number card" for joining the EU and officially became a candidate country for the EU.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described it as a "historic moment".

  Expert analysis believes that when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is stalemate, the EU's move is a political support for Ukraine and a diplomatic counterattack against Russia.

However, there is no fast track for joining the EU. Fighting corruption and reforming the judicial system will be many problems that Ukraine will face in the future.

There is still a long way to go before we truly join the alliance.

On June 23, local time, European Council President Michel Michel delivered a speech at the EU summit media conference in Brussels.

"The future of Ukraine is in the EU"

  European Council President Michel announced on the 23rd local time that the EU summit agreed to approve Ukraine and Moldova as EU candidate countries.

Michel called it a "historic moment" that marked a "critical step towards the EU".

  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also expressed his gratitude to EU leaders for their support, responding that this was a "unique historical moment" in Ukraine's relations with the EU and that "Ukraine's future lies in the EU."

  Zhang Hong, a researcher at the Institute of Russian, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with Chinanews.com that in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the EU's move is on the one hand political support for Ukraine and affirmation of its pro-Western policy, on the other hand It is also a diplomatic counterattack against Russia, which means that the EU's eastward expansion policy has undergone significant changes, extending from the traditional European region to the so-called post-Soviet space.

  Yan Jin, executive director of the Center for European Studies at Renmin University of China, also pointed out that the EU's decision is mainly due to geopolitical considerations, and to some extent, it is a kind of pacification for Ukraine, which is caught in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and cannot join NATO.

  She believes that the EU also hopes to increase its leverage over Ukraine to bring the conflicting parties back to the negotiating table as soon as possible, so as to promote an early ceasefire in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and restore peace and security in Europe.

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"There is no fast lane to join the league"

  Public opinion generally believes that the formal process of joining the EU usually takes several years, and it is unrealistic for Ukraine to "overtake on a curve" through special procedures.

  Yan Jin analyzed that if Ukraine wants to join, it needs to follow the procedures and standards of EU enlargement.

The EU's five existing candidate countries, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania and Turkey, have been "waiting for a long time" in the queue to join the EU.

There is no fast track for Ukraine's accession to the EU, otherwise it will cause dissatisfaction among other candidate countries.

  On the day the EU gave Ukraine a "number card", Albanian Prime Minister Rama, who is also a candidate country for the EU, warned that he hoped that Ukrainians "don't have any illusions" about joining the EU quickly, because "North Macedonia has become a candidate country." For 17 years, Albania has eight years."

  Perhaps in order to appease these Western Balkan countries who are "bitter" about the prospect of joining the EU, the EU has also made frequent statements recently: European Commission President von der Leyen said that the process of joining the EU will be carried out "step by step"; Luxembourg, the Netherlands The leaders of European countries such as Germany and Germany have repeatedly conveyed Ukraine's position that "there is no shortcut to take".

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian soldiers inspect ammunition abandoned by Russian troops as they retreated after the latest battle, near the village of Berezivka, Ukraine.

The challenge is just beginning

  On the other hand, it is not easy for Ukraine to meet the EU accession conditions.

  According to the "New York Times" report, entrants often need to adopt EU common laws to make their political, economic and judicial systems compatible with the EU system, and also need to abide by more than 80,000 pages of EU rules and regulations on environmental protection standards, food hygiene and other aspects. .

  The European Commission has previously bound a number of major reforms related to Ukraine's judicial and government system with the conditions for joining the EU, and said that Ukraine must guarantee judicial independence, eradicate high-level corruption, and improve legislation on money laundering and protection of minorities.

  In this regard, Zhang Hong said that domestic corruption, oligarchic capitalism, and judicial independence and reform in Ukraine are likely to constitute obstacles to its entry into the Union.

According to the EU's anti-monopoly law, Ukraine needs to govern oligarchic interest groups, overhaul the judicial system, and increase the independence, transparency and integrity of the judiciary.

  Yan Jin also pointed out that core EU countries such as France and Germany are not necessarily happy to see Ukraine join the EU.

Faced with the conditions for joining the Union, such as democracy, the rule of law and a market economy, Ukraine obviously needs time to carry out drastic reforms.

(Finish)