China News Service, June 27 (Reporter Meng Xiangjun) "The future of Ukraine is in the European Union."
This is the first reaction of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after the European Council agreed to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate member of the European Union on June 23, local time.
At present, Zelensky is satisfied, but many countries are uneasy.
For example, among the countries that applied to join the EU in one vote, the only country that was not "seen" was Bosnia and Herzegovina.
However, the Ukrainian Gasser is just the beginning. After all, there are five other countries lining up ahead of it, and the longest has been lined up for 23 years!
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
[EU signals Putin's remarks]
Not long ago, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania visited Kyiv and brought good news to Zelensky. Some EU countries, including the four countries themselves, intend to "open their arms" to accept Ukraine.
Subsequently, the European Commission and the European Council really "seal certification."
According to French President Emmanuel Macron, from the first day the Russian army entered Ukraine, European countries have become "grasshoppers on one boat", sharing weal and woe.
European countries have supported Ukraine from economic, military and financial aspects, and now it is the turn of politics.
On June 16, local time, French President Emmanuel Macron (center), German Chancellor Scholz (right) and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi took a train to Kyiv.
Macron directly pointed out that this is "a political gesture" and a "strong signal" to Russia.
With a high probability, the acceptance of Ukraine is out of anti-Russian "political correctness".
Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao" believes that this bold move affecting geopolitics is expected to "enrage" Russia.
However, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov commented that the EU is not a military and political organization, and the development of relations between Ukraine and the EU "will not bring any risks and threats to Russia."
Russian President Vladimir Putin also made a similar statement on the 17th, saying that Russia does not oppose Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
Moscow's placid response has the EU throwing a punch, as if it was empty.
I wonder what Macron thinks about this?
[The process of "regularization" is long]
For Uganda and Morocco, obtaining the candidacy qualifications is only the beginning of a long journey, not the end.
At this level, the EU has left itself plenty of room for maneuver.
Compared with the promise of Ukraine's rapid entry into the EU in the early days of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the "pie" drawn by the EU has shrunk.
In other words, Ukraine is still facing uncertainty. It may soon enter the courtroom, or it may fail to meet the standard. Like the "predecessors", it has been sitting on the reserve seat for many years.
Data map: In February 2019, Macedonia officially changed its name to North Macedonia, and the North Greece border sign was replaced.
The five countries that have obtained the qualifications of the EU candidate membership, but have not yet turned positive are the five Balkan countries: Turkey, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Albania.
In order to join the European Union, North Macedonia even changed its original country name "Macedonia" according to the request of member Greece. However, the miracle they expected did not happen.
How long does it take to wait in a normal queue in Ukraine?
Some numbers for reference: ↓↓
Turkey has been on candidate status for 23 years.
Moreover, in May 2021, the European Parliament passed a proposal to suspend the negotiations on Turkey's accession to the EU, because the country must "immediately change its approach to the rule of law".
·Albania Prime Minister Eddie Rama advises: North Macedonia became an EU candidate country 17 years ago; Albania became an EU candidate country 8 years ago.
It took 10 to 12 years for Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia to join the EU.
·Unlike now, Macron and German Chancellor Scholz have said before that Ukraine's accession to the EU is "not months or years", or "decades".
· French European Affairs Minister Bernard once estimated that Ukraine's entry into the European Union could not be finalized in 15 or 20 years.
【Ukraine is difficult to meet the standard】
At almost every stage of EU accession, Ukraine and Moldova require the unanimous consent of the 27 EU member states.
There are a lot of people who oppose Ukraine's entry into Europe.
Dutch Prime Minister Rutte previously said that giving Ukraine a "fast track" to join the European Union would be unfair to countries such as Turkey and Montenegro.
Denmark pointed to many "pain points" in Ukraine itself: democracy, rule of law, human rights, protection of minorities and anti-corruption policies, among others.
In short, Ukraine must undergo a reform in the style of "scraping the bone to cure the poison" before it can join the EU's eyes.
European Commission President von der Leyen said that Ukraine has implemented about 70% of EU standards, but there is still a lot to do in areas such as the rule of law, oligarchs, anti-corruption and fundamental rights.
European Commission President Von der Leyen.
As Portuguese Prime Minister Costa has pointed out, Ukraine, which is in conflict with Russia, does not meet the requirements for EU membership.
The "Copenhagen Standard" formulated in 1993 stipulates that the applicant country needs political stability and a well-functioning market economy.
[Unqualified but potential? 】
In addition to Ukraine, which "jumped the queue" to buy tickets, and Moldova, which successfully followed suit, there is a third country, Georgia.
In the eyes of the EU, this country cannot meet the threshold, but it still has potential.
This time, the European Council gave the eagerly-awaited Georgia a glimpse of the future. Georgia, it is not impossible for you to get in the car and sit down, but it needs to solve the "unresolved priorities" and meet certain conditions.
Data map: Georgia held a military parade to commemorate Independence Day.
On the same day, Georgian President Zurabishvili expressed his determination.
She believes that her country will take the necessary steps to meet EU requirements.
The time frame she gave was "the next few months."
This is more in line with the European Commission's previous statement that it will assess the country's situation by the end of 2022.
Georgia and Russia are inextricably linked, and as we all know, even after years and months of "investigation", the EU still cannot rest assured.
【This country is the most injured! 】
Similar to Georgia's situation is Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At least Georgia has finally been "seen" by the EU, while Bosnia and Herzegovina is still the one left behind.
On the issue of who can get the "ticket" and who can't, there has been a heated discussion within the EU.
Austria, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Hungary require the EU to grant Bosnia and Herzegovina candidacy.
These countries argue that there is a logical loophole in the EU process: while Bosnia and Herzegovina has to meet a series of conditions to become a candidate, Ukraine and Moldova were nominated first and then met the conditions.
It took Turkey 12 years from application to EU membership, while the Zelensky government took just four months.
On May 30, 2022, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán listens to media questions as he arrives at the EU leaders summit.
The German newspaper Die Welt called the outcome of the discussions a "brussels-style compromise".
This is because the EU intends to determine as much as possible when Bosnia and Herzegovina will become a candidate country at the October summit.
But everything is based on the premise that Bosnia and Herzegovina can complete the standard reforms before that, especially the reform of the electoral law.
According to expert analysis, the domestic situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is tense. Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in early October, and the prospects for joining the European Union are quite bleak.
In other words, the EU is asking Bosnia and Herzegovina to complete an "impossible task".
Zafirovich, a member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina presidium, criticized that Bosnia and Herzegovina also suffered from war in the 1990s, but has not been granted the status of an EU candidate country for many years, unlike Ukraine.
Reuters pointed out that Ukraine's rapid emergence as a candidate country will only strengthen the feeling of marginalization of the Balkan countries, which brings the risk to the EU that Russia may expand its influence in the Balkans.
(Finish)