EU starts membership talks with Ukraine

{"text":[[{"start":8.35,"text":"The EU on Monday formally opened accession talks with Ukraine after Hungary lifted its veto on the arduous legislative alignment Kyiv must complete to join the bloc."}],[{"start":18.549999999999997,"text":"The opening ceremony was held in Luxembourg on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers, days after Budapest gave its assent. The move marks the clearest sign yet of the EU using enlargement as a geopolitical tool to counter Russian and Chinese influence in its eastern neighbourhood."}],[{"start":36.55,"text":"“This is a definite step towards accession . . . and we expect the next steps will be done immediately without delay,” said Taras Kachka, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European integration. “We know that Russia is an anti-Europe aggressor . . . that’s why we need to be united and use our capacities together.”"}],[{"start":54.8,"text":"Weeks after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Kyiv applied for EU membership and was granted candidate status months later. But the formal opening of negotiations was blocked by Viktor Orbán’s pro-Kremlin government in Hungary. Orbán’s ousting in elections this spring prompted Budapest to shift course."}],[{"start":75,"text":"US President Donald Trump held separate phone calls with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine on Sunday. “Maybe we can do something there,” Trump said, referring to the war in Ukraine. “I think they’re both open to it.” "}],[{"start":89.05,"text":"Trump’s efforts to broker an end to the conflict have come to a standstill since he launched a war against Iran in late February. “Now that this is finished, we’re going to be focusing on that [Ukraine],” he said after agreeing a deal to extend a ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz."}],[{"start":103.8,"text":"The UK on Monday announced more support for Ukraine through the supply of British nuclear fuel, as well as additional sanctions against Russia."}],[{"start":112.1,"text":"The European Commission on Monday opened the first of several negotiating clusters, covering some of the 35 accession chapters that set out the legal changes needed to align Ukrainian law with EU standards. The first cluster covers issues including the rule of law, judicial independence, anti-corruption and human rights."}],[{"start":131.35,"text":"Corruption has been and will remain a thorny issue for present and future Ukrainian leaders. "}],[{"start":137.65,"text":"A major corruption scandal late last year triggered the first political crisis in wartime Ukraine, forcing Volodymyr Zelenskyy to demand the resignation of several ministers and to sack his powerful and controversial head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak. "}],[{"start":154.20000000000002,"text":"Yermak and several other members of Zelenskyy’s inner circle found themselves at the centre of a probe alleging that a “criminal group” laundered $10.4mn to build luxury estates outside Kyiv. Yermak denies the allegations."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":167.05,"text":"The investigation is led by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (Nabu) and Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sapo), two institutions set up in the wake of the 2014 Maidan revolution and which European countries have previously hailed as one of Kyiv’s most successful anti-corruption reforms. "}],[{"start":186.25,"text":"Last summer, an attempt by Zelenskyy to curb the independence of Nabu triggered rare wartime protests and a reprimand from EU officials and member states."}],[{"start":196.3,"text":"Over the past year Ukraine and the Commission have informally worked with Kyiv to steer adoption of necessary legislative reforms in anticipation of Hungary lifting its veto."}],[{"start":207.25,"text":"“This is great news for Europe, our unity and our security,” the EU’s enlargement commissioner Marta Kos told the FT. “The reforms under Cluster 1 are also the threshold for much deeper integration into EU structures . . . I will press for this momentum to continue to have the remaining five negotiating clusters open before summer.”"}],[{"start":228.45,"text":"The formal step is a victory for the Cypriot presidency of the EU, which has made rebooting enlargement one of its priorities. The move “reaffirms our collective commitment to Ukraine’s European future . . . bringing Ukraine ever closer to its rightful place in the European Union”, said Cyprus’s deputy Europe minister Marilena Raouna."}],[{"start":247.64999999999998,"text":"Ukraine’s progress comes as EU member states discuss potential ideas to reform the bloc’s process for admitting new members, with some floating the prospect of halfway-house status for aspirants as a means to deepen integration while the full legal alignment takes place. Croatia was the last country to join in 2013."}],[{"start":267.75,"text":"Despite the unanimous support for opening formal negotiations, many EU capitals remain privately uneasy about the prospect of Ukraine becoming a full member of the bloc by the end of the decade, given the dim prospect of peace with Russia and the vast amount of reforms required to meet EU standards."}],[{"start":285.8,"text":"Montenegro, widely seen as the most likely candidate to join the EU next, closed two negotiation chapters on Monday, taking its total of closed chapters to 16."}],[{"start":295.7,"text":"Additional reporting by Amy Mackinnon"}],[{"start":305.49999999999994,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1781574776_1650.mp3"}