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should decide on this matter," O'Brien said.
Ukraine might be ready to join the European Union in 2030, by which point it will hopefully be at peace, European Council President Charles Michel said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Nov. 21.
Poland considers Ukraine's accession to the EU a challenge. Ukraine's accession to the European Union will challenge European agriculture, including Polish agriculture, Polish Minister of Agriculture Robert Telus said. "These are challenges for EU agriculture. But first, for us - I mean Poland and the border countries. We need to talk about this now. We need to find a solution so that it does not harm European agriculture and so that Ukraine's accession to the EU does not harm our farmers," he said. Telus said that he held meetings with the ministers of agriculture of the Visegrad Four countries and the coalition of the five neighbouring countries of Ukraine. "We talked about the grain that passes through our countries. This grain cannot stay in our countries," he said. He also expressed the hope that the EU will draw conclusions from this and create a system at its level that will ensure that Ukrainian goods get to where they were going before the war.
Negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU will begin no earlier than the beginning of 2024, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba said on the air. He emphasized that the parties "clearly understand the time frame," so they await the best opportunity.
Borrell: US support for Ukraine will 'most likely' decrease, EU should be ready. The EU has the necessary means to continue supporting Ukraine, the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell said, but it should be prepared for the likelihood that the U.S. may not sustain its contribution at current levels.
There may come a time for talks on Ukraine that will involve Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with the BBC on November 11. According to the media outlet, Macron did not rule out that there will come a time to "have fair and good negotiations, and to come back to the table and find a solution with Russia." However, Macron added that it was fully up to Kyiv to make a decision but the time was not right yet. The French president also said that all countries should continue supporting Ukraine. He expects that the next month will be critical for Kyiv’s counteroffensive. According to the BBC, Macron warned against allowing Russia to win because otherwise, "you will have a new imperial power" in Europe that could threaten other former Soviet states, namely Georgia and Kazakhstan. "Because, definitely, it's imperialism and colonialism that Russia is doing" [in Ukraine], he said. Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said on November 9 that Moscow was ready for peace talks with Ukraine but Kyiv was not showing any signs of readiness to engage in negotiations.
The European Commission has recommended starting negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU, which was announced by the head of the EC, Ursula von der Leyen, during a press conference in Brussels on November 8. "Ukrainians are deeply reforming their country and preparing for accession, even when waging an existential war. Today, the Commission recommends that the Council start accession negotiations with Ukraine," the President of the EC said. According to her, Ukraine has completed 90% of the reforms requested by the EU. Von der Leyen noted that work on the process could begin immediately, but for a more constructive process, Ukraine needs to finish
20 UKRAINE Country Report December 2023 www.intellinews.com