Russia-attacked Ukraine desperately wants the prospect of EU membership. A first hurdle on the way has now been cleared. However, there are many more waiting.
The EU Commission is in favor of officially nominating Ukraine and Moldova as candidates for accession to the European Union. The German press agency learned this from commission circles.
The authority is thus laying the basis for a possible decision by the EU member states. The heads of state and government already want to discuss the issue at a summit meeting at the end of next week.
Von der Leyen for candidate status
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has officially spoken out in favor of Ukraine’s EU accession candidate status. “Ukraine deserves a European perspective,” said the top German politician in Brussels at the presentation of a recommendation to the 27 EU member states. According to the Commission, the country has clearly expressed its desire and commitment to live up to European values and standards.
“The Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective,” said von der Leyen, referring to the Russian war of aggression against the country. You want to enable them to live the European dream.
Von der Leyen made a similar statement about Moldova, which according to an analysis by the commission should also be given candidate status. Ukraine’s little neighbor recently took a decisive step towards reforms with a clear mandate from its citizens, she explained. Even if it still has a long way to go, be it on the European path.
Ukraine, which has a population of more than 40 million, applied for EU membership around three and a half months ago, shortly after the start of the Russian attack on them. Shortly thereafter, the small neighbor Moldova and Georgia in south-eastern Europe also submitted applications for membership. Moldova recently had around 2.6 million inhabitants, Georgia around 3.7 million.
The procedure now proposed by the EU Commission envisages giving Ukraine and Moldova the status of EU accession candidates. At the same time, the authority believes that further progress in the accession process should be linked to specific conditions. In both countries there are shortcomings in the area of the rule of law and in the fight against corruption.
According to the EU Commission’s recommendation, Georgia, which is also aiming to join the EU, should only be granted candidate status after certain conditions have been met. Like Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, the country would initially only be a potential candidate for accession.
Now the ball is in the hands of the EU countries
Based on the Commission’s recommendation, the EU states must now decide how to proceed. The views of the governments on the subject have so far diverged widely. According to diplomats, countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands consider the granting of candidate status to the three states in Eastern Europe to be premature and purely symbolic.
Another argument put forward by skeptics is that the EU, with its principle of unanimity in matters such as foreign and security policy, is already considered cumbersome. They first call for internal reforms before opening the door to new members.
Zelenskyj pleased with recommendation for EU candidacy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was pleased with the EU Commission’s recommendation for his country’s EU candidate status. “This is the first step towards EU membership,” Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter on Friday. It would also bring Ukraine’s victory closer to the war with Russia that has been going on since late February. “I’m counting on positive results from the EU summit next week,” said the 44-year-old.
Kremlin: “Will be closely monitored”
The Kremlin has been reticent about Ukraine’s EU prospects. According to the Interfax agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that this is not a military-political level in response to the EU Commission’s recommendation to officially appoint Ukraine as a candidate for EU membership.
Nevertheless, this development of Russia requires increased attention, because one knows about the “strengthening of the defense component of the European Union”, said Peskov. “Various transformations are taking place, which we are of course monitoring very closely.” In the past, Moscow had accused the EU of having transformed itself from an economic alliance into “an aggressive militant actor”.
No timeframe associated with candidate status
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and French President Emmanuel Macron, on the other hand, spoke in Kyiv on Thursday in favor of Ukraine becoming a candidate for accession. Germany and France argue that the candidate status does not anticipate the admission decision, nor is it associated with a time frame. Turkey, for example, has been a candidate for accession since 1999.
Source: Stern
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