The European Union has reminded that Ukraine's progress towards the EU will depend on its own merits, taking into account the EU's ability to accept new members. This is stated in a joint press release following the 9th meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council, UNN reports.
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"The Association Council emphasized the historic decision of the European Council of December 2023 to open negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU. It emphasized that the future of Ukraine and its citizens lies in the European Union. The EU recalled that Ukraine's progress towards the EU will depend on its own merits, taking into account the EU's ability to accept new members," the press release said.
It is noted that the Association Council recognized Ukraine's commitment and praised "significant progress in achieving the goals underlying Ukraine's candidate status, despite the fact that Ukraine is fighting against Russia's aggressive war.
"Ukraine called for the political will of the EU member states to adopt a negotiation framework as soon as possible and organize the First Intergovernmental Conference," the press release said.
Ukraine expressed its gratitude for the 13 packages of EU restrictive measures, and the Association Council confirmed that work on sanctions will continue, including strengthening implementation and preventing circumvention.
The Association Council welcomed the establishment by the Council of Europe of the Register of Damages Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, underlined the EU's financial support for this initiative, which is a first tangible step towards a future compensation mechanism, and called for further efforts towards its establishment. The EU emphasized that it continues to work towards further progress on the possible use of proceeds from the immobilized assets of the Russian central bank to support Ukraine, in line with EU and international law.
The Association Council emphasized its firm commitment that Russia and its leadership must be held fully accountable for waging an aggressive war against Ukraine and other most serious crimes under international law.