European Commission says no shortcuts to EU for Ukraine

There are no shortcuts for Ukraine to join the European Union (EU), Head of the European Commission's (EC) Directorate General for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Gert Jan Kompan stated on April 13.

"Our role is to help them. But I must stress in the interest of the Ukrainian people and in the interest of everyone else: there are no shortcuts, these reforms must be implemented," the EC official said at a conference at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, commenting on Kyiv's aspirations to join the EU, TASS reports.

At the same time, Kopman noted that Kyiv needs to meet several preconditions before talks on Ukraine's integration into the European Union can begin. "They (the reforms mentioned earlier - TASS note) can be implemented quickly. In fact, we have outlined steps in the areas of fighting corruption and ensuring the rule of law. These are all critical preconditions for starting negotiations," the European Commission spokesman said.

"We hope that by the end of this year, Ukraine will meet these conditions. It is making very good progress [in this area]. And then a critical decision has to be taken to launch formal negotiations," Kopman said.

"How fast this goes depends on [the implementation of] reforms [in Ukraine]. We want a successful country to join the EU," the EC official added.

According to the information he laid out, the EU is trying to act in the case of Ukraine "as quickly as it can without sacrificing quality". "In the EU, all of our member states have an incredible sense of urgency [on this issue]. And we really want Ukraine to succeed, we see the efforts being made. I have every reason to believe it will succeed," Kopman said.