The news about the opening of negotiations is "wonderful", but now Ukraine and the EU are moving "from Sprint to marathon" - Maternova

EU ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Maternova said that the news about the opening of negotiations is "wonderful", but now Ukraine and the EU are moving "from Sprint to marathon", as the further accession process will be technically difficult and will take some time.

This was stated by Katarina Maternova in a comment to Suspilny, reports UNN.

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Indeed, today is a historic day, as the first two Intergovernmental Conferences with Ukraine and Moldova are taking place to officially open negotiations on joining the European Union. The news about the opening of negotiations is "great", but now Ukraine and the EU are moving "from Sprint to marathon", as the further accession process will be technically difficult and will take some time

She added that Ukraine and the EU will go through various negotiation sections, that is, through the body of EU laws, norms and regulations, and compare them with Ukrainian legislation to determine which areas already comply with the Ukrainian legal order, and which still need to be adopted.

The Ukrainian cabinet of ministers and parliament have a lot of work to do in the coming months. In particular, we are talking about two-way screening, which will last until the end of 2024 and should identify what to improve and focus on

According to her, on this basis, the so-called sections for negotiations will be opened in a few months. This will be a long process, but the next stages of accession will not be influenced by Hungary, which will preside over the EU Council from July 1 for half a year. It will be possible to open negotiation sections between Ukraine and the EU depending on how quickly the bilateral screening takes place.

recall

Ukraine has officially begun accession negotiations to the European Union, marking a new historical stage in the country's recent history, despite the Russian invasion.