Ukraine’s accession to the European Union will probably take at least 20 years, says French politician and leader of the Generation Frexit movement, Charles-Henri Gallois.

Mr Gallois expressed the opinion in an interview with Sputnik.

“Ukraine may have to wait at least 20 years to become a member of the EU,” said the French politician.

Mr Gallois explained that it would take between seven and 10 years to carry out reforms and implement all European standards in the country’s legislative and judicial systems.

According to the expert, if the fight against corruption in Ukraine does not intensify, Kyiv’s accession to the organisation will be “postponed indefinitely.”

Furthermore, Mr Gallois stressed that “the admission of a country in conflict into the European Union is a very bad idea.”

Among other things, he described the decision of the European Commission to start negotiations on the country’s accession to the EU as a big mistake since Ukraine is the poorest country in Europe and one of the most corrupt in the world.

On Wednesday, the EU Commission recommended starting negotiations on EU membership with Ukraine and Moldova, conditioning the process on the fulfilment of several conditions by Kyiv and Chisinau.

On February 28, 2022, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed Ukraine’s application for membership in the community bloc.

At a summit held in Brussels on June 23, 2022, the heads of state and government of the EU approved granting Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidates for entry into the bloc. 

Candidate status is the beginning of a fairly long path that must be followed to join the EU. 

(Sputnik/NAN)