Ukraine’s top EU negotiator says war-torn country won’t seek ‘discount’ on entry commitments

News

Ukraine’s top EU negotiator says war-torn country won’t seek ‘discount’ on entry commitments

2024-06-24 14:13 Last Updated At：14:20

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s top official for Europe says the war-torn country is on an “irreversible” course of Western integration after the European Union agreed to formally start entry negotiations this week.

The decision to launch accession talks this week is a “big day” for her country, Olga Stefanishyna, the deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, said.

“This is the utmost will of the Ukrainian people. And this is the irreversibility. And you’ve seen Ukrainians stand up for their choice,” Stefanishyna said, speaking in Kyiv Sunday.

It was her first interview since being appointed chief negotiator for EU accession.

EU member countries agreed Friday to start entry talks with Ukraine and Moldova – overcoming vocal opposition from Hungary which takes over the EU’s rotating presidency on July 1. The process of joining varies for each country but could take years. Turkey started its accession talks almost two decades ago and is still waiting for full membership.

Stefanishyna will head the opening of the accession talks in Luxembourg Tuesday, joined by several top government officials. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to give a speech at the launch ceremony, but Stefanishyna did not elaborate whether he would do so in person or online.

Zelenskyy described Friday’s decision as a “historic step,” adding in an online post: “Generations of our people are realizing their European dream. Ukraine is returning to Europe.

A survey of opinion polling by the European Parliament earlier this year suggested that EU citizens broadly back Ukraine’s membership bid but are less supportive of fast-tracking the process.

Ukraine, Stefanishyna said, was not seeking special treatment.

“Ukraine is moving fast,” she said, “without skipping any elements of the process (and) without asking (for) any discount.”

Russia has used economic pressure and ultimately military force to try and reverse the aspirations of its former Soviet neighbor to join Western alliances it regards as hostile.

Deadly protests a decade ago to demand that the government stick to a pledge to forge closer ties with the EU put the country on a collision course with Russia.

“It’s a big day for everybody,” said Stefanishyna, who frequently showed emotion while describing the integration process. “It has been around two years since Ukraine applied for membership. The war is still raging on, but the accession is starting right now.”

Stefanishyna, a 38-year-old lawyer who has worked in civil service and government positions since her early twenties, will lead Ukraine’s 35-member delegation for negotiations with the EU.

In 2019, Ukraine changed its constitution to include those aspirations and formally applied to join the EU on Feb. 28, 2022 – five days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Bordering EU members Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, Ukraine would overtake France to become the largest member of the bloc if it joined, shifting its center of gravity further eastward.

Together with Moldova, it’s in a long line with other candidates – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey – some with membership aspirations spanning decades.

Ukraine is hoping to join by 2030.

While praised for making progress since its application, Ukraine must carry out dozens of institutional and legal reforms required for membership. The daunting list is led by steps to combat corruption, and includes broad reforms to public administration, the judiciary, and market rules.

More than 1000 people in Ukraine are already involved in the accession process which will proceed without a summer break.

“The next half a year will be crucial for our key negotiators,” she said, adding that Ukraine needs to come up with a clear reform roadmap.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Storm inundates Northern California with rain, heavy snow. Thousands remain in the dark in Seattle

2024-11-23 11:27 Last Updated At：11:30

HEALDSBURG, Calif. (AP) — Heavy downpours fell over much of Northern California on Friday, causing small landslides, overflowing a river and flooding some streets, including in parts of San Francisco. Meanwhile tens of thousands of people were still without power in the Seattle area after several days in the dark.

The storm arrived in the Pacific Northwest earlier this week, killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, mostly in the Seattle area, before moving through Northern California, where several roads were closed due to flooding and strong winds toppled trees.

Forecasters warned about the risk of flash flooding and rockslides in areas north of San Francisco from this season’s strongest atmospheric river — a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows through the sky over land.

On the East Coast, another storm brought much-needed rain to New York and New Jersey, where rare wildfires have raged in recent weeks. The rain eased the fire danger for the rest of the year and was a boost for ski resorts preparing to open in the weeks ahead. Parts of West Virginia were under a blizzard warning through Saturday morning, with up to 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow and high winds making travel treacherous.

In California's Humboldt County, the sheriff’s office downgraded evacuation orders to warnings for people near the Eel River after forecasters said the waterway would see moderate but not major flooding. Officials urged residents to prepare for storm impacts throughout the week.

Flooding closed scenic Highway 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, in neighboring Mendocino County north of Point Arena near the Garcia River, and there was no estimate for when it would reopen, according to the California Department of Transportation.

Santa Rosa saw its wettest three-day period on record with about 12.5 inches (32 centimeters) of rain, according to the National Weather Service in the Bay Area.

A small mudslide threatened a home in the community of Fitch Mountain, near Healdsburg, nestled in hills along the Russian River in Sonoma County. Moderate rain was falling, and officials worried the slide could grow and hit several homes downhill.

“Our concern is while this property may be OK, the earth between it and the road below is slipping, and the mudslide is affecting downhill properties,” said Tennis Wick, permits and resource director for Sonoma County.

Dana Eaton, who lives in one of the downhill properties and was clad in a yellow rain slicker and hat, said she was worried, too. In 2019, mud cascaded into a neighbor’s garage.

Asked what the last few days have been like, she laughed: “Wet. Constant rain. It’s like everywhere else in the county, but so far nothing major, just concerns.”

In Washington state nearly 117,000 people were still without electricity, mostly in the Seattle area's King County, as crews worked to clear streets of downed lines, branches and other debris. Utility officials said the outages, which began Tuesday, could last into Saturday.

People flocked to a suburban senior center in Issaquah to get warm food and plug in their cellphones and other devices. One of them, Melissa Tryon, said she had been unable to charge her electric motorized wheelchair and had to throw out all the food in her refrigerator after it went bad.

“Today I kind of had a little bit of a meltdown,” Tyron said. “It’s hard to be cut off for that long.”

Gale warnings were issued off Washington, Oregon and California, and high wind warnings were in effect across parts of Northern California and Oregon. There were winter storm warnings for parts of the California Cascades and the Sierra Nevada.

The National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada, reported a 128-mph (206-kph) gust of wind in the morning at the top of Palisades Tahoe ski resort, about 10 miles northwest of Lake Tahoe, where some runs were open. Gusts up to 86 mph (138 kph) were recorded at Mt. Rose, which closed due to the weather.

The system roared ashore on the West Coast on Tuesday as a “ bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly. It unleashed fierce winds that toppled trees onto roads, vehicles and homes.

Debra Campbell, 65, said she was sitting in the dark with a flashlight that night, unable to sleep as strong winds lashed her house in Crescent City, California. With a massive boom, a 150-foot (46-meter) tree came crashing down on her home and car.

“It was just so incredibly frightening," Campbell said. "Once I realized it wasn’t going to come through the ceiling where I was at, I was able to grab my car keys and my purse. ... And I open the front door and it’s just solid tree.”

She was able to stay with her boyfriend that night, but now, living on Social Security and with no savings, she worries about how she will to pay for repairs.

Officials warned of the risk of flash flooding, rockslides and debris flows, especially where hillsides were loosened by recent wildfires.

In the Northeast, which has been hit by drought, more than 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain was expected by Saturday morning north of New York City, with snow mixed in at higher elevations.

Despite the mess, the precipitation was expected to help ease drought conditions in a state that has seen an exceptionally dry fall.

“It’s not going to be a drought buster, but it’s definitely going to help when all this melts,” said Bryan Greenblatt, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Binghamton, New York.

Heavy snow fell in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains, prompting a raft of school closures. Higher elevations reported up to 17 inches (43 centimeters), with lesser accumulations in valley cities like Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. More than 92,000 customers in 10 counties lost power, and the state transportation department imposed speed restrictions on some highways.

Gary Wilson, 37, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, was heading to his casino job in the Poconos in the morning when he got stuck in standstill traffic, a consequence of accidents and downed wires. At one point he worried about getting stranded because it was snowing hard and plows couldn’t get through. Traffic began moving again only after about five hours, and Wilson never did make it to work.

“I’m done for the day,” Wilson said. “Five and a half hours in the car, turn around and get home safe.”

Rodriguez reported from San Francisco. Associated Press writers Hallie Golden in Seattle, Janie Har in San Francisco, Manuel Valdes in Issaquah, Washington, Sarah Brumfield in Washington, D.C., Michael Rubinkam in Pennsylvania and John Raby in West Virginia contributed.