Not a restaurant menu: German Ambassador speaks of Ukraine's difficulties on its way to EU

Martin Jäger, German Ambassador to Ukraine, has said that Kyiv has a long and difficult path to join the European Union, so it is difficult for him to predict the possible timing of Ukraine’s accession.

Source: The German diplomat in an interview with European Pravda

Details: According to the German diplomat, Ukraine, which wants to become an EU member state, needs to implement the entire legal framework of the European Union.

He added that this entails large-scale changes in national legislation in accordance with European law and this work will take a lot of time.

Quote: "And this is not like a restaurant menu. You can’t say: ‘Oh, I skip the starter, I go for the main course, and I don’t want to have a dessert.’ 

You can’t say I go for the single market, but I’m not interested in migration, social policy or what is done in the field of scientific cooperation…So you have to buy it as a whole," the ambassador asserted. 

At the same time, the ambassador said that he was impressed by the work that Ukraine had done but stressed that it was not necessary to create false expectations in society.

Background: Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said that the negotiations for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union will begin in the first half of 2024, when Belgium holds the EU Council presidency.

On 3 October, Politico reported that EU leaders were preparing to give their political consent to what is expected to be a positive decision by the European Commission on Ukraine’s readiness to start accession talks in December.

Read more: Mission not accomplished: Start of EU accession negotiations still at risk

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