President of European Parliament calls for changes in EU to prepare for Ukraine’s accession
Pravda Ukraine
Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, supports changes in the European Union related to the preparation for the adoption of new members in the future, Ukraine in particular.
Source: European Pravda with reference to Metsola’s interview with The Guardian
Details: The European Parliament chief said that she expected the start of official negotiations on joining the European Union with Ukraine before Christmas. “If they are going fast, we should match that speed,” she explained.
She stressed that “pushing the can down the road” on enlargement would only strengthen nationalism and the far-right tensions.
“It increases the extremes on the political spectrum, the Euroscepticism. Campaigns in accession countries are fought, and lost or won, on the basis of the dream and hope of the EU,” Metsola noted.
In connection with the upcoming expansion of the EU, she called for changes in the Union to prepare it for the admission of new members. Among other things, applicants for membership should have access to certain membership benefits, such as free mobile roaming or removing trade barriers.
“We said for years Ukraine could not be connected to the European electricity grid. It took us days to do that once the war started. At the end of the day it was always about political will,” Metsola said.
In June 2022, Ukraine became a candidate for membership in the European Union and received seven recommendations from the European Commission, the implementation of which would confirm this status.
Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, has stated that Ukraine will not fully meet all seven EU criteria by October. However, accession negotiations will still begin.
Also, the Vice Prime Minister expressed confidence that Ukraine is capable of taking the necessary steps to join the EU even amidst the war with Russia.
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