The European Parliament voted on March 1 in favor of making Ukraine a member of the European Union. European Parliament is one of the European Union’s legislative branches.
- A total of 637 parliament members voted in favour of Ukraine joining the bloc, 13 voted against and 26 abstained.
- Being a member of the European Union, which has 27 members at present, would allow Ukrainians to move freely between the 27 countries.
- The European Parliament’s vote does not immediately make Ukraine an EU member.
Process to join EU
- Joining the EU is a lengthy process and takes months as the applicant nation has to satisfy a number of conditions called the Copenhagen criteria.
- The criteria include a free-market economy, a stable democracy, the rule of law, and the acceptance of all EU legislation, including of the euro currency.
- After the application gets approved by the European Council, the country must agree on a framework for negotiations.
- The Members of the European Parliament are directly elected by voters in all Member States to represent people’s interests with regard to EU law-making and to make sure other EU institutions are working democratically.
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