Impossible to say when Ukraine joins EU - EC head

BRUSSELS. Feb 9 (Interfax) - European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen has praised Ukraine's efforts to prepare for its membership of the European Union. but reiterated that this comes with certain conditions Kiev must comply with and there was no timetable for the admission of the country to the EU.

"More needs to be done, but important is to understand that there is no rigid timeline. It is a merits-based process. So, it is up to the candidate country, how far and how fast they reach the goals that are being set," von der Leyen told a press conference in Brussels on Thursday, which also involved Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky, who was invited to the EU summit.

Von der Leyen said it was impressive how Ukraine set out to implement the necessary reforms, fight corruption, and adopt new laws regarding the mass media. The EC is helping Ukraine, which has yet to reform seven spheres determined by Brussels, she said.

"Indeed, there will be an oral report in spring, but the big goal is to show the progress and to show the track record of the progress in the reforms to the written enlargement report in fall," von der Leyen said.

The reforms must continue parallel to efforts to rebuild Ukraine and restart its economy, she said.

For his part, European Council President Charles Michel, who was also at the press conference, said Ukraine was quick to show its ability to implement crucial reforms, and do so successfully. The Council will decide on further stages of this work after an EC report before the end of 2023, he said.