European Parliament decision on Ukraine: not ambitious enough

EVROPEYSKA PRAVDA - WEDNESDAY, 2 MARCH 2022, 15:10

The Ukrainian president's office said that yesterday's European Parliament decision on Ukraine lacked the bold political signposts that all EU institutions and member states should take into account when granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for membership.

This was stated by the deputy head of the OP, Ihor Zhovkva, on Facebook, the European Pravda news agency has reported.

Zhovkva quoted the text of a provision in the resolution adopted by the European Parliament: "The European Parliament calls on EU institutions to work on granting Ukraine EU candidate status in accordance with Article 49 of the Treaty on the European Union and on the basis of achieving compliance, and in the meantime to continue to work towards integration into the EU Single Market under the Association Agreement.

Zhovkva stressed that the European Parliament has no authority to decide on granting Ukraine candidate status, but he said it could adopt "bold policy pointers that should be taken into account by all EU institutions and member states".

"Unfortunately, the relevant provisions of the resolution did not become such a pointer. I would like to reiterate the president's position: Ukraine needs an accelerated procedure for full membership of the EU. This means that the usual and long routine bureaucratic procedure should be passed by Ukraine in an unprecedentedly fast manner. Our country is ready for it. We would like to see the same readiness from Brussels and all the capitals of the member states," the deputy head of the Parliamentary Assembly said.

He added that Ukraine was working in constant consultation with EU institutions on the fastest possible joining procedure, which should contain a minimum number of steps and set short but realistic deadlines.

"No meeting of the European Council or the Council of Ministers should take place without considering certain aspects of Ukraine's entry. Ukrainians will not accept and understand any other algorithm of Brussels' work," Ihor Zhovkva added.

As a reminder, the European Union officially started the procedure for considering Ukraine's application for membership on 1 March.

Read more about Ukraine's prospects for joining the EU:  Turning to the EU in turbo mode: how and when Ukraine's bid for fast-track membership will be considered

See explanation in an EU video: Joining the EU in a time of war? All about membership and Zelenskyy's application for EU membership