Page 28 - UKRRptJul24

The European Commission has recommended that the EU start formal negotiations this month with Ukraine and Moldova over their prospective membership in the bloc, the Financial Times reported on June 7. Hours after the news broke, Interfax Ukraine reported that Budapest was impeding consensus on the issue among member states by arguing that Ukraine has not taken sufficient measures to protect the country’s ethnic Hungarian minority. For the talks to begin, all EU countries must agree that Ukraine has implemented the reforms necessary to bring its legislation in line with EU standards. Ukraine’s supporters hope to begin the negotiations before Hungary takes over the bloc’s presidency next month. Two officials told the FT that a formal debate on whether to start the talks will be held next week.
Peace in Ukraine does not mean NATO membership. In an interview with TIME, US President Joe Biden said that peace in Ukraine means ensuring that "Russia never, never, never, never occupies Ukraine.” But this does not mean NATO membership, the American president noted. Biden said that Ukraine is already part of the Alliance. "We have the same relations with them as we do with other countries where we supply weapons so that they can defend themselves in the future.” But I was one who was not ready to support Ukraine's immediate membership in NATO, the president said. He recalled that when he was a senator and vice president visiting Ukraine, he noted “significant corruption”, and that this was "a circumstance that was really difficult." At the same time, Biden stressed that the West should not allow Ukraine to fall, as this would mean instability for all countries along the border with Russia, including the Balkans, and Belarus. He also denied the idea that NATO is moving closer to war with Russia by helping Ukraine: "No, we're on a slippery slope for war if we don't do something about Ukraine."
NATO is developing logistical paths to transfer American troops in the event of Russian aggression against European allies. NATO is developing several "land corridors" to transfer American forces and armored vehicles to the front line in the event of a major European ground war with the Russian Federation, writes The Telegraph. Plans call for American troops to disembark in Dutch ports before boarding trains that would take them through Germany and on to Poland. Measures are also being taken to extend routes to other ports in Italy, Greece, and Turkey to ensure that Moscow forces do not interrupt the ground line of communications. From Italian ports, American troops can be transferred overland through Slovenia and Croatia to Hungary, which borders Ukraine. Similar plans exist to transport troops from Turkish and Greek ports through Bulgaria and Romania to reach the Alliance's eastern flank. Plans are also being developed to transport troops through ports in the Balkans, as well as through Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
The EU wants to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession before Hungary's presidency begins in July. On May 29, representatives from 27 European governments discussed the draft framework for negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU. As Politico writes, time is of the essence because the Europeans in Brussels have to start negotiations before Hungary's EU presidency begins on July 1. According to the European Commission's report on Ukraine, Kyiv still needs to implement some reforms, although Ukrainian government officials have completed most of their "homework." Few in Europe want to wait for another report confirming Ukraine's progress because the commissioner in charge of enlargement, Hungarian Oliver Vargeli, can delay the process. Hungary has already tried to block the approval of the draft negotiation framework for Ukraine's accession
28 UKRAINE Country Report July 2024 www.intellinews.com