EU Commission comments on delay in start of negotiations with Ukraine

The European Commission has no set dates for preparing a negotiating framework for Ukraine's accession to the EU, and the timing will be determined solely by how long this process takes.

Eric Mamer, chief spokesman of the European Commission (EC), was asked at a briefing in Brussels to comment on EC President Ursula von der Leyen's statement that the negotiating framework for Ukraine will most likely not be ready for the European elections in early June.

"The president said, if I remember correctly, ‘my best guess’. So, obviously, we’re working on preparing this negotiating framework, which may be presented as soon as it is ready – basically in the next few weeks or later, perhaps. There’s no precise date for this," said Eric Mamer.

"No date is specified for the negotiating framework, it will be presented as soon as it is ready – in the coming weeks, perhaps, or later," the spokesman added. 

Recall that on 21 February, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said that the framework for negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU will not be ready before the European elections scheduled for early June.

Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, stated that work on the negotiation framework has been ongoing since January, and the Commission has not reported any complications in preparing for further work that is scheduled for March.

Earlier, there was hope that the negotiating framework would be approved at an intergovernmental conference held following the EU leaders' summit in March. Holding an intergovernmental conference marks the official start of accession negotiations.

The March EU summit is expected to evaluate Ukraine's most recent moves to begin accession talks. Among these moves is the approval of the law on lobbying.