The European Commission speaks of “historic responsibility” in the matter of admission to Ukraine, but some members of the European Union are calling for an objective assessment of the readiness of Ukrainians.
Ukraine’s entry into the European Union not only meets the EU’s strategic interests, but it is also a “moral duty,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Brussels plans to approve the conclusion on Ukraine’s application for EU membership by the end of June. The recommended candidate status is one of the options considered.
However, Austria calls for a “temporary stage” between cooperation and Ukraine’s full EU membership. France and the Netherlands are also against giving Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership in June, the media wrote. Germany and Spain are still hesitant. Athletistic telling details.
There is no unity in the EU with Ukraine
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said it was the moral duty of Europe and its allies to make it possible for Ukraine to join the EU. He announced this at the GLOBSEC 2022 international security conference in the Slovak capital on June 3rd.
All 27 members of the European Union will decide whether to grant status to the candidate. Many have already expressed support for granting candidate status in Ukraine. Other states say they are waiting for the European Commission’s conclusion and will decide on its basis.
“It is not only our strategic interest, but also a moral duty to make Ukraine’s accession to the EU possible,” von der Leyen said in a speech at a security forum.
His speech was preceded by a video message to participants of the annual event of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
He demanded more weapons to be provided to the Ukrainian Armed Forces so that they could defeat the invading Russian forces. Zelensky also called on the EU to impose additional sanctions against Russia and expressed the desire of Ukrainians to become “a full member of a united Europe.”
Von der Leyen said Ukraine must meet all necessary standards and conditions for entry, but called on the European Union to help Ukrainians achieve these goals.
“Supporting Ukraine towards the European Union is not a burden, it is our historic responsibility,” he said.
However, there is still no consensus in the EU on Ukraine’s membership, which was confirmed by another statement by Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on June 5. He said that an intermediate stage should be introduced in the process of granting Ukraine’s membership. in the European Union.
Nehammer believes the EU should develop a “European preparatory zone” where potential union members will strengthen cooperation with it and adapt to its standards. Austria followed a similar path before joining the EU in 1995, six years after the application, the chancellor said.
“Currently, Ukraine is fighting for its political and territorial security. All our efforts are primarily aimed at stopping [войны]. At such a stage, rapid full accession to the EU may not be a relevant issue anyway, ”he was quoted as saying by the Kronen Zeitung newspaper.
Nehammer also supported the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron, who proposed the creation of a “European political community.”
In May, Macron said that “the process of Ukraine’s accession to the EU could take many years and even decades.” According to him, the European Union “may not be the only way of developing the continent of Europe,” and proposed the creation of a “European political community” that could include Ukraine.
According to the Austrian Chancellor, it is necessary to develop cooperation with Ukraine in a number of sectors, including trade, energy and climate policy, transport, science and education, food security, common foreign policy, security policy and defense.
Nehammer also acknowledged the possibility of expanding cooperation with Ukraine within the framework of the European Free Trade Association, which includes non-EU Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway.
At the end of May, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte indicated that Ukraine may not receive the status of an EU candidate country in the coming months.
Rutte stressed that, when considering the Ukrainian application, European countries need to examine the full range of possibilities, and not just what Kyiv demands.
“We need, for example, to consider the example of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This country is not a candidate, but it has the status of a country that has the potential to be a candidate for EU membership. And it should also note. The European Commission must be ruthlessly honest with us about all the pros and cons of these three countries: Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, “said the Dutch leader.
According to the European Pravda, with the exception of Austria and the Netherlands, France is also opposed to granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership in June.
Spain remains an opponent, but is willing to change its mind with everyone, the newspaper wrote, citing sources. Germany, despite its public statements of support for Ukraine’s EU membership, is still hesitant.
Interlocutors of the publication noted that the European Commission plans to convey to the states a conclusion on Ukraine’s readiness to obtain the status of a candidate for EU membership in mid -June, ten days before the European meeting. Council, which will make the final official decision on the matter.
What options does the EU have for Ukraine?
EU member states hope that the European Commission will provide an objective assessment of Ukraine’s readiness for candidate status, and not a political one, despite the absence of clear criteria for candidate status.
The EC must make a judgment on the country’s ability to meet EU membership criteria in the future. Brussels officials are preparing their conclusions based on the answers provided by Ukraine to the completed questionnaires.
A category denial is almost impossible – it is not given to those countries that do not defend their aspirations in Europe at the cost of a thousand lives of their citizens on the battlefield.
However, an entirely positive conclusion is an extreme. This was only the case in Iceland in 2010. As a result, the “ice country” refused further integration into the EU.
Another possibility is to recommend the status of a candidate without additional conditions, called priorities in the opinions of the EC. This happened in Serbia in 2011. The EC recommended that he be given candidate status. But for the next step – the opening of accession negotiations – one suggested a condition regarding the normalization of relations with Kosovo.
Also, the European Commission may recommend granting candidate status to Ukraine, but granting assignments for the future. This is a variant of Montenegro – in 2011 the EC proposed to give it candidate status and defined seven priorities on which the country should develop. There was no talk of opening negotiations at the conclusion.
Regarding the option of Bosnia and Herzegovina, mentioned by the Dutch prime minister, the European Commission’s conclusion indicated that the BiH was moderately prepared in only two of the 33 political fronts, in all the others it did not even reach standard level.
In this case, Brussels shunned a positive recommendation and gave 14 assignments. The EU has told Bosnia and Herzegovina that progress will only be possible if the tasks are met. This has not happened yet.
A number of factors are playing against Ukraine. These are the Western Balkans, which received the prospect of EU membership about 20 years ago, but integration with Europe is hardly progressing. This is, in general, the policy of raising the EU, which is in crisis, primarily due to the low popularity among many citizens of the association. This is also the factor of Georgia and Moldova, which filed their applications after Ukraine.
According to the DW, citing EU politicians, officials and diplomats, Ukraine is likely to receive a “creative” decision from Brussels, including the status of a potential candidate that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo have.
In fact, this is exactly what Ukraine has been looking for for years, asking to recognize the prospect of its membership. However, this status is granted to countries that have not yet applied. And Ukraine did so after the start of a comprehensive war.
Other creative solutions could be an entirely new status or the “European political community” created by Macron.
Earlier, Ukrainian authorities said that Ukraine does not need “successors” of EU candidate status, which “shows a second-rate attitude towards the country and hurt the feelings of its population.” Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba wrote this on Twitter.
“The strategic uncertainty about Ukraine’s European outlook, held by some EU capitals in recent years, has failed and should stop. It only encourages Putin.”
And President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned at the latest EU summit: “We reject any attempt to find an unnecessary alternative or anything for Ukraine. We need to be like you. We want Ukraine to get candidate status.”
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.