Lithuanian President: Negotiations on Ukraine's EU membership may start in December

Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova deserve EU membership if they succeed in their reforms. Negotiations on Kyiv's entry into the union may begin in December 2023, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Thursday ahead of the EU summit, Report informs via TASS.

"I hope that all countries on the eastern flank deserve a positive attitude if they succeed in carrying out the necessary reforms. Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia - they all deserve positive results, positive decisions," he said.

The Lithuanian President also praised the pace of reforms by the Ukrainian authorities and said that in the event of a positive assessment from the European Commission (EC), negotiations on Kyiv's accession to the EU could be launched in December 2023.

On February 28, 2022, Ukraine applied for EU membership. On June 23, the heads of state and government of the European Union decided to grant Ukraine and Moldova candidate status. The dates for the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU have not yet been determined.