On June 8 or 15, the European Commission will present its opinion on the application of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia for EU candidate status.
Sources in the Greek Foreign Ministry say that the country is against Ukraine’s accelerated accession to the EU. They believe that the countries of the Western Balkans should be a priority for the EU. Greece will decide on granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership after the conclusions of the European Commission.
Cyprus also states that they will wait for the European Commission’s conclusion, if it is satisfactory, the country will not oppose Ukraine’s accession to the EU. The Cypriot authorities also want the countries of the Western Balkans to join the EU.
“Another big debate ahead of us is Ukraine’s application for EU membership. I think it is very important to give Ukraine hope: clear steps on how the country will become a member of the EU in the future,” said Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
At the same time, Marin does not see the possibility of providing Ukraine with special conditions for joining the EU. Like, there can be no exceptions in accordance with EU criteria.
French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clement Bonn said that any application for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union would take at least 15-20 years.
At the same time, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine has met all the necessary criteria for obtaining the status of a candidate for accession to the European Union.
So what do these facts show? But what should Ukraine do to go through all the necessary procedures as quickly as possible?
Speakers:
- Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze, MP and Head of the committee for integration of Ukraine to European Union
- Serhii Sydorenko, editor-in-chief of the news outlet European Pravda
- Raimond Kaljulaid, member of the Estonian Parliament
- Antoine Arjakovsky, Research Director at the Collège des Bernardins in Paris
- Andrea Castagna, EU policy expert.
UKRAINE IN FLAMES project is created by Ukraine Crisis Media Center, Ukrainian Catholic University’s analitical center and NGO “Euroatlantic Course”. We are aiming at searching a loud support for Ukraine in the war started by Russia on the 24th of February 2022.
If you want to support Ukraine against Russian aggression, check the link with recommendations by Ukraine Crisis Media Center – https://uacrisis.org/en/help-ukraine.
NGO Euroatlantic Course collects donations to support Ukrainian Army and civilians – https://eac.org.ua/en/main-page/.