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implementing reforms, rather than political will, Euractiv news outlet reported on November 28, citing sources
Ukraine has fulfilled almost all of the requirements for starting negotiations to join the EU. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, made this statement and added that she is deeply impressed by how Kyiv implements deep structural reforms, considering the existential war. "Ukraine has fulfilled all requirements from almost all seven steps that we asked it to take when it became a candidate country," she said. In December, after a summit of EU leaders in Brussels, the official announcement regarding the start of negotiations will occur if all member states support such a decision. At the same time, in Ukraine, 78% of respondents would vote for the country's accession to the European Union in the event of such a referendum. Sociologists note that in July of this year, 85% of respondents supported this idea. At the same time, only 5% of Ukrainians are against joining the EU. On the other hand, the share of those who are undecided or would not like to vote is increasing: 3% and 14%, respectively.
Ukraine can model Poland's experience in order to gain EU membership by 2030. Business ombudsman Roman Vashchuk said that Ukraine can join the EU by 2030, but only if it uses a European integration strategy that has already been demonstrated successfully. In particular, Poland is the largest country to have completed accession negotiations, built negotiation strategies, and coordinated its actions with other nations. According to Vashchuk, Ukraine can also follow this path to European integration: "Ukrainians should understand that their country is huge, both in terms of territory and economic potential. At the same time, it is as large as all the other countries that are now candidates for the EU combined," Vashchuk said. Today, Ukraine has become a kind of leader in this race, so if it wants to continue to be successful in conducting European integration negotiations, it should negotiate not only one-on-one with Brussels but also directly with other countries - for example, Serbia and Montenegro, he is convinced.
Ukraine has fulfilled most IMF and EU structural beacons on time, but there are some delays. During the nine months of the IMF program, requirements have been met for 16 of the IMF’s 23 structural beacons and eight of the 20 conditions under the EU program. The country has neither fulfilled nor missed the deadline for six of the IMF beacons and three EU obligations, according to monitoring by RRR4U analysts. It is noted that the most problematic aspects of implementing the IMF program remain two tasks in fiscal policy: the return of the 5-7-9 affordable loans program to support small and medium-sized businesses and the development of tax and customs service reform plans. The deadlines for these beacons passed in September and October, respectively, but they still have not been met. Also, Ukraine completed several requirements after their deadline. In the EU program, Ukraine has overdue obligations in effective governance and energy: the norms of the law on administrative procedure have not yet been implemented, and there is no action plan for the restoration of the energy infrastructure considering the goals for the transition to green energy.
● Domestic Politics
Parliament passes bill to increase anti-corruption bureau staff in first reading. Ukraine's parliament passed in the first reading a draft law to
25 UKRAINE Country Report December 2023 www.intellinews.com