Kuleba on EU membership negotiations: "We are in a new reality and will definitely join the EU"

THURSDAY, 3 MARCH 2022 17:39 

Ukraine appears to be in ‘a new reality’ when it comes to the prospect of joining the European Union, though there is still some scepticism about the process, according to the country's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Source: Minister Kuleba on 1+1 TV channel

The Foreign Minister stressed that the European Union had already agreed to steps that were excluded before– particularly, statements were made by leaders of the European Commission and European Council in regard to recognizing Ukraine from a European perspective, and the possibility of granting candidate country status to Ukraine. It is also noted that the European Parliament recommended that Ukraine be granted the status of candidate country.

Quote: "A few days ago, it was impossible to imagine that the question of membership would be resolved. We are now in a new reality. Clearly, Ukraine will be a member of the EU, but now EU members must properly conduct this process ," the minister said.

Dmytro Kuleba, however, acknowledged that there is no unanimity in the EU about this problem.

Quote: "I will not say that everyone is excited about this idea, as there have been many years of scepticism leading up to now, but we are pressuring all sides and we know with whom to work to speed up this process as quickly as possible," he said.

"As reported, after the beginning of the Russian invasion, a number of EU Member States affirmed the need to develop a new procedure to accelerate Ukraine's accession. It is very important that Hungary supports this idea."