The most important questions and answers

In principle, every European country has the right to apply for EU membership. Where “European” is not defined more precisely. There is geographical Europe – which does not include the member country Cyprus – and there is cultural Europe.

Where cultural Europe ends is an ideological question. At the border with Turkey? At the eastern end of the South Caucasus? Is Israel also Europe? Does this include all Slavic countries? Also all Turkic states?

So the question cannot be answered unequivocally. Theoretically, Russia could also apply for EU membership. The EU rejected Morocco’s application for membership in the 1980s.

What are the criteria for EU membership?

A country must be a democracy, meet the criteria of the EU internal market and those of the rule of law. Other points are respect for human rights, including the rights of minorities. In addition, a country must not have border disputes. There are 35 negotiation chapters in total.

Does Ukraine meet the criteria?

Not at the moment, for a number of reasons. There is the strong influence of oligarchs on politics, deficits in the rule of law, corruption, a generally weak economy, ailing state finances – and border disputes.

In addition, minorities in Ukraine will be kept out of public office and there are attempts to ban languages ​​other than Ukrainian from public life. While these measures aim to curb Russian influence in the country, they also limit the numerous other minorities.

How exactly does the accession process work?

First of all, the EU Commission recommends that the European Council grant candidate status to an applicant country. The Council must then agree unanimously.

Then the Council must also decide unanimously to open accession negotiations. A unanimous decision is also made on its continuation as well as on the final accession.

Which countries currently have candidate status?

Montenegro and Serbia are accession candidates with whom negotiations have been ongoing for many years. Also Albania and North Macedonia, with which, however, no concrete accession talks have yet started.

Turkey is also a candidate for accession, but the negotiations have been on hold for years. Officially, however, they do not want to be canceled for strategic reasons. Turkey applied to join the EU in 1987.

Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina are considered potential candidates. They have already submitted an application for membership, but there has not yet been a unanimous Council decision to pursue it.

For the other European countries that can potentially become EU members, there is the so-called Eastern Partnership. In addition to Ukraine, these also include Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. In concrete terms, however, only Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia are striving for EU membership.

What powers does the EU Commission have?

The EU Commission only makes recommendations in the accession process. Whether and how to proceed is decided solely by the member states, and unanimously. And that’s where the problem often lies: For domestic reasons, individual member states keep blocking progress in EU integration.

That could also be a problem in Ukraine. Budapest, for example, has rather bad relations with Ukraine – because of the disadvantaged Hungarian minority.

There are also countries like France and Denmark that are generally skeptical about EU enlargement.

How long does it take for a country to become a member of the EU?

That depends on the country. The economically strong and democratically highly developed European economies can usually become members very quickly.

Finland’s accession went the fastest. It took three years from application to membership. Accordingly, it is said in Brussels that if Norway or Iceland, for example, want to become EU members, it would only be a very short process.

The situation is different in the less developed countries. They do not meet many criteria for EU membership, or it takes a long time before they meet them. The EU accession of Croatia, the youngest EU member, lasted ten years from the application for membership.

Can an exception be made for Ukraine?

This is something that individual Member States are now debating. Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger, for example, called for a new approach for a country that went through a war because it wanted to “be part of Europe”. He brought up a recovery fund, saying that Ukraine was open to reform like never before.

The Baltic countries are demanding that Ukraine be declared an official candidate country. On Monday, European Council President Charles Michel announced that there would be a country-to-country debate on Ukraine’s EU membership.

Nevertheless, one thing is clear: an urgent procedure is legally not possible because the EU treaties do not provide for corresponding laws. Whether the political will is there in all member countries can also be questioned – especially since Ukraine does not meet the criteria for membership.

Will something still happen?

There is already an association agreement with Ukraine that aims to bring the country up to EU standards. It is conceivable that the heads of state and government will offer Zelensky further steps towards integration. For example: A membership in the European Customs Union, like Turkey already is. Or to work for Pesco, a permanent European cooperation in relation to defense plans and projects. Pesco’s goal is to create a European defense union.

Should one decide to officially designate Ukraine as a candidate country after the membership application has been received in Brussels, this would only be of symbolic value.

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