Kiev still has a lot of steps to take to actually join the European Union
MEPs voted overwhelmingly in favor of granting Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidates to the European Union. 529 parliamentarians spoke in favor of the decision, 45 opposed it, 14 abstained. The resolution is advisory in nature. The final decision should be made later at the EU summit. The leaders of the association note that, to begin with, the countries will have to carry out serious reforms.
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk. Photo: AP
The statement of the European Parliament notes that the EU leadership must fulfill its historical responsibility – to give Ukraine and Moldova “a clear political signal confirming their European perspective.”
“With 529 votes in favor, 45 votes against and 14 abstentions, the Parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution calling on the heads of state who will hold the summit today and tomorrow to grant the status of candidates for EU membership to Ukraine and Moldova without delay,” the European Parliament said in a statement.
The MEPs also called on the EU to grant Georgia the status of a candidate. At the same time, they clarified that this should be done after her Government fulfills the conditions specified by the European Commission.
It is important to understand that the resolution adopted by the European Parliament is purely advisory in nature. The final decision on this issue will be made later at the EU summit, which is taking place in Brussels these days.
The European Parliament noted that such a decision was made as a “symbol of hope” to maintain the spirit of Ukrainians. After all, for real accession to the European Union, Kiev has to “take a lot more steps.”
Moreover, this process can easily go backwards if the future Kiev government fails to carry out the necessary reforms in the field of the rule of law and bring its economy in line with EU standards.
The transition from the status of “applicant” to the status of “candidate” usually takes years. However, the European Union has accelerated this process in relation to Ukraine. According to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Kiev’s desire to join the EU has led to Ukrainians “going through hell.”
Shortly before the start of the EU summit, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, expressed confidence that the European Union would grant the status of candidates for membership to Ukraine and Moldova.
“This is a crucial moment for the European Union,” he told reporters. “It is also a geopolitical choice that we will make today, and I am sure that we will give the candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova.”
In turn, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba said that the candidate’s status “will draw a line under decades of ambiguity” and “carve it in stone: Ukraine is Europe, not part of the “Russian world”.
Commenting on the possibility of obtaining such a status, Ukrainian Ambassador to the EU Vsevolod Chentsov noted that the European Union acts “lightning fast” according to its standards.
“We need this clarity [regarding EU membership] to support the Ukrainian army, Ukrainian society morally, psychologically and to get a clear sense and understanding of the direction of movement for the country,” he added.
Meanwhile, senior European officials counted at least 10 member states that had previously opposed granting Ukraine the status of an EU candidate, The Guardian reports. However, recently, under some pressure, they have changed their positions.
The draft conclusions of the summit, which was reviewed by the publication, states that the “progress” of the candidate country will depend on “its own merits”, as well as “on the ability of the EU to accept new members.”
Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said against this background that the European Union needs to “reform its internal procedures” in order to prepare for the admission of new members. The politician called for a wider use of qualified majority votes in areas such as foreign policy to put an end to the blocking of a decision by one country.
Recall that a two-day summit of the European Union opened in Brussels on Thursday, June 23. The main topic of the summit was the EU’s further steps to strengthen security and stability on the continent.