The official EU candidate status that Ukraine aims to obtain by the end of June is anything but certain, despite repeated assurances that Ukraine belongs to “the European family”. kyiv demands a concrete “legal commitment” and a strong signal; the Europeans, divided, procrastinate and must also position themselves on Moldova and Georgia.
“Giving Ukraine the status of candidate is quite dizzying”, recognizes a diplomatic source from a major country of the union, citing the obvious obstacles: countries at war, corruption, governance, reforms to be implemented work… “Many countries within the EU want to appear as the most Ukrainians of the bunch, they add to it, but they know full well that Ukraine cannot be brought in by forced march. And they know that we must not lower the requirements for entering the EU. Otherwise, we kill the EU”, adds this source.
According to the French presidency, the European summit at the end of June could offer several options to Ukraine: candidate status with conditions, candidate status with a start date for negotiations, review clause… “I would bet on convoluted formulas and promises which only engage those who listen to them”, estimates the researcher François Heisbourg, for whom the Ukrainian candidacy “does not arouse enthusiasm either in Paris or in Berlin”, the two European heavyweights.