Assessment of Ukraine's Progress Towards EU to Be Positive but with Additional Conditions

The European Commission intends to present a positive assessment of Ukraine's progress in applying for EU membership on 8 November, but this assessment may contain additional conditions amid the upcoming decision to start accession talks with Kyiv.

"Kyiv is expected to get a positive recommendation, possibly under additional conditions related to fighting graft and the rights of minorities, the latter issue having been raised by Hungary," a sourse told Reuters.

The assessment will be published in the European Commission's annual report. It will describe in detail how far the countries seeking to join the EU have progressed in fulfilling the necessary economic, legal and other criteria.

As for other applicants, an EU official said this week that Moldova could receive a similar positive recommendation.

As for Georgia, the source said that "the jury has still not decided" on whether it will receive the official status of an EU candidate.

It is expected that during the EU leaders' summit on 14-15 December, a decision will be made on whether to start formal membership talks with Ukraine, which is currently Kyiv's top priority.

Any decision on enlargement requires the unanimous support of all EU members, which EU officials and diplomats believe may be difficult to achieve for countries in the Western Balkans.

Instead, they said, the Western Balkans region could receive additional financial assistance from the revision of the EU's common budget, which is also to be decided at the December summit.

The European Commission's proposal for the revision includes €50 billion in support for Ukraine through 2027, as well as a further €15 billion to fight illegal migration.

Budgetary decisions also require unanimity in the EU, and some member states have asked for increased spending on natural disasters such as forest fires and floods.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the College of European Commissioners gathered in Brussels on Tuesday, convincing them that Ukraine has fulfilled all the recommendations of the European Commission and is ready to start negotiations on accession to the European Union.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed confidence that the European Commission would give a positive opinion to start accession talks by the end of this year.

Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office, said that negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union would begin in the first half of 2024, when Belgium holds the EU Council presidency.