European Commission's oral assessment notes progress in meeting criteria for starting talks on Ukraine's EU membership

MOSCOW. June 22 (Interfax) - The European Commission has concluded that Ukraine has fully implemented two out of the seven conditions it is supposed to meet to start membership negotiations, made "good progress" in implementing one more condition, and "some progress" in implementing the rest.

Ukrainian media reported with reference to the relevant European Commission document that, in the Commission's view, Ukraine has fully met the recommendations related to judicial reform and media law and made "good progress" in reforming the selection process for Constitutional Court judges on a competitive basis.

The commission also noted "some progress" in de-oligarchization, the protection of minority communities, and anti-corruption efforts, as well as in "strengthening the country's anti-money laundering system" and law enforcement reform.

The European Commission is of the view that Ukraine should focus on making amendments to the selection process of Constitutional Court judges in line with the Venice Commission's recommendations and launch this selection procedure. Ukraine is also expected to "take further systemic measures and build the track record in high-level corruption cases." The commission also insists that Ukraine should bring its anti-money laundering law in line with international standards and implement the Venice Commission's recommendations on de-oligarchization and minorities.

The note says that the European Commission considers a recommendation to be fully completed when all the necessary measures have been taken; "good progress" means that important measures have been taken and more than 50% of the tasks have been delivered; "some progress" means that, while some measures have been taken, less than 50% of the task has been delivered; "limited progress" means that the implementation has started, but is still at an early stage; and "no progress" means that the country has not yet started making priority steps.

As concerns Moldova, the commission found that it has fully implemented three out of the nine recommendations, made "good progress" on two others, and "some progress" on the remaining four.

As for Georgia, which is supposed to meet 12 conditions to be granted candidate country status, the commission concluded that it has implemented three, made "some progress" in implementing seven others, "limited progress" on one more, and "no progress" on the recommendation concerning media pluralism.