Yesterday, Zelensky made a dramatic call to the EU for Ukraine to be accepted into the European club “without delay”. “We turn to the EU regarding the integration of Ukraine without delay through a new special procedure,” Zelensky said in a video.
However, hours later, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, markedly cooled the enthusiasm and narrowed the door opened by Von der Leyen, admitting that the immediate accession of Ukraine does not enjoy unanimous consent.
“It is a request expressed by Ukraine for a long time. But there are different opinions and sensitivities within the EU about an enlargement” of the bloc, Michel explained to journalists in a videoconference.
For his part, a spokesman for the European Commission indicated that, in his statement the day before, von der Leyen “referred to the fact that Ukraine has a European perspective.”
Strictly speaking, the sudden and immediate accession of a country to the EU is not foreseen in any regulation, and the process is remarkably long. In addition, it requires the unanimous support of the members, who now number 27.
A country aspiring to join must submit a formal request and open slow negotiations, and within a specific period must meet a demanding list of conditions before being accepted. The last country to join the EU was Croatia, in 2013, although the negotiations began eight years earlier, in 2005, and the last chapters were sealed in 2011.
Currently, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and Albania wait patiently in line to be accepted. Turkey has been an applicant since the late 1980s, but those negotiations have been virtually frozen since 2016.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
