The European Union has started the first stage of membership talks with Ukraine. At the same time, the EU is proposing new, stricter rules for candidate countries to ensure they follow the bloc's political goals over the long term.

歐盟已與烏克蘭展開第一階段的成員資格談判。與此同時，歐盟正建議為候選國制定一套新且更嚴格的規則，以確保其長期符合歐盟的政治目標。

The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has led the European Commission to view the expansion of the EU as a strategic necessity. Consequently, the EU has begun the 'first cluster' of negotiations with Ukraine, focusing on legal and administrative standards. This happened after Hungary removed its veto, following an agreement regarding the rights of the Hungarian minority. However, becoming a full member will still take a long time—likely at least ten years—and will require the war to end first.

俄羅斯與烏克蘭之間持續的戰爭，使得歐盟委員會認為擴大歐盟是一項戰略必要。因此，歐盟已與烏克蘭展開「第一組」談判，重點在於法律與行政標準。這是在匈牙利就少數民族權利達成協議並撤回否決權後發生的。然而，成為正式成員仍需很長時間——可能至少需要十年——且必須先以戰爭結束為前提。

Meanwhile, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos has mentioned a 'new generation' of membership treaties. These new rules could limit the ability of new members to disagree with EU priorities for up to 15 years after joining. Supported by France and Germany, these measures might include temporary limits on voting rights regarding foreign policy and budgets. This change is intended to prevent the kind of political instability and disagreement seen with some current members.

同時，擴大事務委員 Marta Kos 提到了「新一代」的成員條約。這些新規則可能會限制新成員在加入後 15 年內反對歐盟優先事項的能力。在法國與德國的支持下，這些措施可能包括對外交政策與預算投票權的臨時限制。此舉旨在防止如目前某些成員國般出現的政治不穩定與分歧。

Despite these steps, there are still disagreements about whether membership should be based strictly on merit. While the EU has praised Ukraine's reforms, there are still reports of corruption and slow legislative progress in Kyiv. Furthermore, some countries, including Germany, have suggested 'associate' membership models. This would allow countries to attend high-level meetings without having the right to vote, although Ukrainian leaders have rejected this idea.

儘管採取了這些步驟，但關於成員資格是否應嚴格基於表現而定，仍存在分歧。雖然歐盟讚賞烏克蘭的改革，但仍有關於基輔貪污以及立法進度緩慢的報告。此外，包括德國在內的一些國家建議採用「準成員」模式。這將允許相關國家參加高層會議而無需擁有投票權，儘管烏克蘭領導人已拒絕此構想。

The EU is now in a difficult phase of expansion, trying to balance the strategic need to include Ukraine and Moldova with the need to maintain stability and democratic standards.

歐盟目前處於一個困難的擴張階段，試圖在納入烏克蘭與摩爾多瓦的戰略需求，與維持穩定及民主標準之間取得平衡。