European leaders give the green light to Ukraine’s bid to join the EU

by time news

The leaders of the European Union meet this Thursday in Brussels. / REUTERS

The Twenty-seven make a “historic” decision and send “a sign of support” to the country in the midst of the Russian invasion

The Twenty-Seven gave a clear message to Ukraine’s European perspective on Thursday with the formal approval of its status as a candidate country to join the European Union (EU). They did so without setting deadlines, making it clear that the process, from now on, will be subject to the merits and reforms carried out by the country to adapt to the standards set by Brussels. The green light from European leaders has a political interpretation, as a sign of support for the Ukrainian people in the face of the Russian invasion.

The Brussels proposal provides for a review at the end of the year before discussing what the next steps for kyiv will be. The European Council also accepted the candidature of Moldova. Not so for Georgia, to whom the European countries and the Community Executive recognize its European aspirations, but ask for more in-depth reforms to be able to consider its future entry into the EU.

THE KEY:

  • 5
    countries are waiting to join the EU. The oldest, Turkey, since 1999.

  • Adhesion process.
    The approval to kyiv is an “important message”, but Brussels warns that “there will be no shortcuts”

The point about Ukraine, the first of the leaders’ meeting, was resolved in the early stages of the European summit. The Member States attended the meeting with a broad agreement on kyiv’s candidacy and circumvented the traditional reticence of countries such as France or Germany regarding European enlargement. Already at the meeting of foreign ministers last week, the foreign ministers showed majority support for the country’s European aspirations.

community support

The day before the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tried to reach a consensus with a telephone marathon, in which he spoke with eleven European leaders. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen also urged the leaders of the Twenty-seven to “rise up” to the circumstances and support kyiv’s candidacy. Brussels, for its part, has demanded a series of national reforms to bring Ukraine closer to Europe. Among them, the implementation of an anti-corruption body and improvements in safeguarding the rule of law.

Upon arrival at the European Council, its president Charles Michel assured that “it is a decisive moment, a geopolitical choice that will compromise the future of the European Union, our stability and prosperity”. The Irish Prime Minister stressed that the approval of Ukraine’s candidacy represents a European “message of solidarity” to the Ukrainian people.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo also considered “historic” the granting of candidate status to Ukraine, in addition to assuming a “strong signal” in the midst of the Russian invasion. “It does not mean that accession to Europe will be done quickly, it will take a long time, but the signal is important,” he assured.

The president of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, described the day as a “happy day”, due to the “very important political” support that the European decision implies for the “combative spirit of the Ukrainians”.

The Balkans, uncomfortable

Ukraine’s membership application has been processed in record time, something that has made the Western Balkans uncomfortable. Von der Leyen tried to calm things down and advanced that “there will be no shortcuts” for any aspiring country. The President of the European Council took advantage of his speech on Thursday to underline that “it is time to revitalize the accession process of the Western Balkans.”

On the table was also the proposal launched by Emmanuel Macron in May to create “a European political community”, which allows for the promotion of alliances with countries that defend European values. The idea is that the candidate countries can work more closely with the Member States while waiting to become full partners. However, this initiative has been seen by some as an attempt to establish a double scale -between first and second-class countries- in Europe.

Western Balkan leaders were supportive of Ukraine’s bid, but Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama warned Ukrainians to “have no illusions” about a process that could take decades. “North Macedonia has been a candidate for 17 years, if I haven’t lost count. Albania, for eight. So welcome, Ukraine », he ironically upon his arrival in Brussels.

The anger of the leaders of the Balkan countries was evident at the close of the meeting prior to the European summit, which they branded as “historical in the negative.” The meeting did not serve to achieve any concrete progress in its accession to the community bloc, after Bulgaria vetoed the start of negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania.

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