Senior members of the European Union’s executive branch traveled to Ukraine on Thursday looking to boost relations with the war-torn country and pave the way for it to one day join the bloc, but concerns over corruption and democratic deficiencies remain.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen led a team of 15 policy commissioners who were to spend the day discussing Ukraine’s financial, business and energy needs, and how to bring the former Soviet state’s legislation into line with EU standards.
“Despite the continuing ruthless attacks of the aggressor, we are seeing a major momentum of reforms in Ukraine,” Hahn said. But he noted that “the EU accession path is a marathon, not a sprint” and that the EU's 27 member countries must agree unanimously for Ukraine to join one day. In a new report this week, the anti-corruption group Transparency International praised Ukraine for the steady progress it has made in battling the scourge in recent years, although it ranks the country a low 116 out of the 180 countries listed for perceived corruption.
But Borrell said that “this is a merits-based process, and no one can jump over it. So we have to cooperate better and to try and be optimistic, and at the same time realistic.”
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