EU Recommends Starting Talks on Ukraine's Membership When All Seven Criteria Are Met

The European Commission will most likely recommend the EU member states to start official talks on Ukraine's accession to the European Union after fulfilling all seven criteria.

Bloomberg said the European Commission will hold a meeting on Tuesday to make a final decision on whether to recommend the official beginning of talks on Ukraine's membership.

It is expected that the result will be positive for Kyiv, but with additional conditions.

Bloomberg noted that the European Commission is likely to recommend that member states begin formal talks with Ukraine after it completes reforms and implements steps on legislation on national minorities, anti-corruption, de-oligarchisation and lobbying.

However, the sources noted, the final wording of the European Commission's conclusion has not yet been approved.

Radio Svoboda (Liberty) reported that the European Commission considered that four of the seven criteria that accompanied the obtaining of candidate status for European Union membership by Ukraine have been fully met. At the same time, the other three criteria are accompanied by recommendations from the European Commission regarding further implementation. 

In particular, the further strengthening of the fight against corruption is not considered complete. "Ukraine should still approve the law on lobbying in accordance with European standards", the European Commission said regarding limiting the excessive influence of oligarchs. It noted that not all reforms of legislation on national minorities, in accordance with the Venice Commission recommendations, have been implemented.

According to unofficial data, 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.

Earlier, it was reported that the European Union is likely to support the start of accession negotiations for Ukraine and Moldova and grant Georgia the status of a candidate for membership, but with certain conditions.