China News Service, February 3rd, comprehensive report, on the 2nd local time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after talks with the visiting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union should start "this year".
Data map: Zelensky.
However, Agence France-Presse said in a report that although Ukraine has expectations, its road to becoming a full member of the European Union is still long and may take several years.
French President Emmanuel Macron said in May 2022 that it could take "decades" for Ukraine to meet the standards and become a full member of the European Union.
In addition, von der Leyen promised to provide Ukraine with more financial, military and political assistance during his visit to Kyiv.
Zelensky called on the European Union to impose more sanctions on Russia. He said that the pace of EU sanctions against Russia has "slightly slowed down", and Russia is adapting to these sanctions.
Ukraine officially became an associated country of the European Union in 2017.
After the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, Zelensky signed Ukraine's application to join the EU on February 28, 2022, calling on the EU to start a "new special procedure" to quickly absorb Ukraine.
On June 23 of the same year, the European Council agreed to grant Ukraine EU candidate membership.