MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th September, 2022) The European Union is set to work towards bringing Ukraine to its single market and include the country into the bloc's roaming area, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
"The Commission will work with Ukraine to go a step further and ensure a seamless access to the single market of the EU ... Today I am going to Kiev to discuss all this with (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy and to show him what a single market is as a potential for Ukraine's future too," von der Leyen said in her State of the Union address.
The official went on to say that the bloc "will bring Ukraine into our European free roaming area, it is really time to do that now."
On February 28, Zelenskyy signed the application for Ukraine's accession to the EU. On April 8, Zelenskyy received a questionnaire to begin Ukraine's accession process and returned it to EU Ambassador to Ukraine Matti Maasikas on April 18.
On June 23, the EU approved granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for joining the bloc. Gaining the candidate status is the first step in a long process of accession. Turkey has been a candidate since 1999, North Macedonia since 2005, Montenegro since 2010, and Serbia since 2012. Croatia was the latest country to join the EU in 2013 after a ten-year accession process.
