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The Polish presidency may be responsible for the next step in Ukraine’s accession process

by AI | 28.Jun 2024 | Europe in brief AI

There is a likelihood that the opening of the first chapters of negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova will fall during the period of the Polish presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2025.

Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP

After the inauguration of accession talks with the EU on Tuesday, Ukraine and Moldova will undergo the so-called monitoring, which – according to an EU source – will last less than a year. This means that Poland, which will hold the presidency in the first half of 2025, may be responsible for opening the negotiation chapters.

Intergovernmental conferences are organized at key moments in the accession process. On Tuesday in Luxembourg, two conferences – first with Ukraine, then with Moldova – will inaugurate the start of accession talks with both countries. On the EU side, ministers for European affairs from 27 member states will participate in the meetings. Poland will be represented by Adam Szłapka.

For the past three months, the accession process has been in the hands of the member states, which had to unanimously adopt the so-called negotiation frameworks, a document defining the rules and course of the accession talks, prepared by the European Commission. The presiding Belgium wanted this to happen in this half-year, before handing over the presidency of the EU Council to Hungary. The 27 member states managed to reach an agreement on June 21. Intergovernmental conferences are therefore organized at the last possible date before the Hungarian presidency.

After the intergovernmental conferences, the responsibility for the accession process will be taken back from the member states by the EC. As part of the so-called monitoring, it will compare the state of the law in the candidate countries with the EU legal acquis. This will indicate how much Ukraine and Moldova need to do to align their regulations with the EU regulatory framework. Then negotiations on the individual negotiation chapters can begin, which will be decided unanimously each time by the member states.

Although – as pointed out by the EU source – the monitoring usually takes the EC about a year, in the case of Ukraine and Moldova it will likely be done in a shorter time. “We already have knowledge about the state of legal preparations in Ukraine and Moldova because we have association agreements signed with both countries. It won’t take a year, we assume the monitoring will be shorter, although it’s hard to say exactly how long” – highlighted the EU source.

There is therefore a probability that the opening of the first negotiation chapters with Ukraine and Moldova will coincide with the period of Poland’s presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2025. (28.06.2024)