Ukraine's desire to move quickly on the path to EU membership is creating tension between Kyiv, Brussels, and some European capitals ahead of the opening of the first negotiation cluster. Therefore, Kyiv fears that its application for EU membership could be delayed, Politico writes, as reported by UNN.
Kyiv and Brussels have publicly hailed the likely start of formal negotiations on June 15 as a breakthrough. However, Ukraine is concerned that its application could be "suspended" due to political issues, including the presidential elections in France
It is emphasized that this could push expansion off the EU agenda, while in the meantime, Brussels is concerned about the pace of reforms in Kyiv.
The publication notes that discussion papers published by Paris and Berlin, which promote "associate membership" for Kyiv and other interim solutions for candidate countries, are causing irritation.
In practice, Ukraine is being offered everything except membership itself
The publication adds that the risk for Ukraine is that it remains somewhere behind—with some benefits of EU integration, but without a clear path to full membership. Kyiv does not reject the Franco-German ideas but wants stronger guarantees regarding where it will ultimately end up, according to officials briefed on the negotiations.
Kyiv wants to open not one, but several negotiation clusters by the end of this summer to signal to its politicians and war-weary voters that EU membership is a real prospect, not an impossible dream
As a reminder
The first cluster of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union could be opened as early as June 15. The European Commission also expects to open five more negotiation clusters in July; EU member states are discussing mechanisms that would allow Ukraine to receive some of the benefits of membership even before the full accession process to the bloc is completed.