The European Union must find a quick and pragmatic way to help Ukraine, but its eventual accession is not just a matter of a few months or even a few years. This was stated today by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Bundestag regarding the positions he intends to take at the regular summit of the European Union next week.
“An accelerated integration process for Ukraine would be an injustice to the countries of the Western Balkans, which are striving to meet the membership criteria,” he said.
“It is not just a matter of their trust in us. We must keep our promises, because today, more than ever, their European integration is in our strategic interest.”
Scholz declares that this is why his position in Brussels will be categorical: The place of the Western Balkans is in the European Union!
Following the statement, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba criticized “second-class treatment” of Kyiv by some European capitals, which “offends the feelings of Ukrainians,” AFP reported.
“The strategic ambiguity about Ukraine’s European prospects, practiced by some EU capitals in previous years, has failed and must be stopped,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter. This “only encourages” Russian President Vladimir Putin, he added.
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