Zelenskyy to address the European Parliament on Ukraine joining the EU

President Zelenskyy will appeal to the European Parliament on Tuesday 1 March with regard to Ukraine joining the EU.

This was announced by the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.

The Ukraine president’s resolution and speech will be part of a plenary session, dedicated to the invasion of Russia to Ukraine, due to take place at 13:30 (Kyiv time)

European Council President Charles Michel, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell will be present during the speech. 

Previously, Vladimir Zelenskyy signed the application for Ukraine to join the EU on 28 February.

The EU believes that Ukraine’s application to join may be vital for president Zelenskyy, considering this to be a key point of EU’s peace-and-negotiation policy to help resolve the conflict.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, several EU member countries have called on the court to provide Ukraine with prospective EU membership, meanwhile Slovakia has proposed that a special procedure be organised for Ukraine’s accession to the EU. 

The day before, the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared that she considered Ukraine to be a country that was "one of us" and she wanted to see it in the EU. However, she did not comment on the applicant’s chances or whether Ukraine can join the EU now.

Josep Borrell, representative for the EU’s Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said that Ukraine has a clear prospect of joining the EU, but right now "we must fight against the aggression".