Ukraine not to join EU while hostilities ongoing — Polish Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW, August 24. /TASS/. The cessation of hostilities is a condition for Ukraine’s accession to the EU, Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ignacy Niemczycki said on the TVP Info channel. "All [EU states] proceed from the premise that the condition for Ukraine’s accession to the EU is the cessation of hostilities," Niemczycki said, adding that before Kiev joins the community, the EU must be convinced that this will benefit everyone. Ukraine has held candidate status for EU membership since 2022. On July 14, Irish European Affairs Minister Thomas Byrne said that the European Union had begun negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU under the second of the six negotiation clusters. The negotiations are split into 33 negotiation sections, or chapters, which are unevenly distributed across the six negotiation clusters. The negotiations do not guarantee membership or establish a timeline. For instance, Turkey, whose accession is not expected in the foreseeable future, started negotiations in 2005.