Ukraine could join the EU by 2011, says Yushchenko

By Martin Banks

Date: 24/02/05

Ukraine could join the EU within six years, President Viktor Yushchenko has said.

The EU has specifically refrained from offering Ukraine the prospect of eventual membership, insisting that any bid for entry was a matter for the future. But, in an interview with European Voice, Yushchenko said he believed Ukraine could be ready to join the EU by 2011, much earlier than many in Brussels predict.

"I would like to see my country join the EU within four to seven years of starting accession negotiations which I hope will be by 2007," he said. "I consider EU membership to be a just reward for the work we have already undertaken to bring about democratic changes in Ukraine."

He urged that a date for beginning talks on the country's membership aspirations should be named in the near future. "I think it helps to set a target to which we can all aim," he added. "Setting a target will, I believe, help the country introduce the reforms and modernise our society, all of which will be necessary for us to qualify for EU membership."

But he also declined to speculate about whether Ukraine would enter the Union before Turkey. "We are not trying to compete with Turkey," he said.

The European Commission and EU member states have mixed feelings about offering Ukraine the immediate prospect of membership. Instead, the EU executive has drawn up a plan to forge closer ties with the country through a "neighbourhood policy" and has proposed a ten-point strategy that includes lower trade barriers between the EU and Ukraine and co-operation on immigration and foreign and security policy.

But Yushchenko's eagerness for Ukraine to join the EU was this week challenged by leaders of each of the three main political groups in the European Parliament who all played down suggestions that Ukraine could apply for rapid EU membership.

One senior MEP said: "He seems to be in a hurry. But, given Ukraine's poor record on human rights and its failure to effectively tackle corruption, the EU should be careful before it opens the door to Ukraine for EU membership."

Hans-Gert Pöttering, leader of the centre-right EPP-ED group, said: "Ukraine's EU membership is not something which is up for discussion at present. While we support the moves towards democracy and the rule of law in Ukraine, we are not in a position to say yes or no to the question of whether a date should be set for accession talks to begin. This is something for the future."

Deputy Socialist group leader Jan Marinus Wiersma agreed, saying: "We believe that Ukraine has the right to apply for membership but for such a request to be credible, a lot has to change in Ukraine. Therefore, we should concentrate now on creating an environment for far closer co-operation."

Graham Watson, leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, said: "Democracy and economic reform in Ukraine needs and deserves our support. While Ukraine is currently not ready for EU membership, we should not exclude the possibility of it happening eventually."

But Parliament's President Josep Borrell said that the 2007 deadline set by Yushchenko for accession talks to begin was "quite reasonable".

On Tuesday (22 February), Yushchenko met NATO leaders, including US President George W. Bush, at a summit in Brussels. Bush, who had a brief face-to-face meeting with Yushchenko, called on his European allies to welcome Ukraine "into the Euro-Atlantic" family.

In an interview with European Voice, Ukraine's President, Viktor Yushchenko, said he believed Ukraine could be ready to join the EU by 2011. The EU specifically refrained from offering Ukraine the prospect of eventual membership, insisting that any bid for entry was a matter for the future.