France, Germany, Italy and Romania want to make Ukraine EU candidate country: “No time to hesitate” | Abroad

“All four of us support immediate candidate status,” Macron said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis to conclude a visit to Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky, as always in khaki t-shirt, was also present.

The message is a huge boost for Zelensky on the 113th day of the war. He has been working tirelessly for candidate membership since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24. “The Ukrainians have already earned the right to embark on this road,” Zelensky said. Ukraine is now “ready” to work for “full membership,” the president said.

Macron, Scholz, Draghi, Iohannis and the heads of state or government of the other EU member states will decide next week at a summit in Brussels on the granting of candidate membership to Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. Each Member State has a veto right. Tomorrow the European Commission will already issue its opinion.

Scholz also called for a “positive decision” for Moldova, while Iohannis was the only one to plead for Georgia, which currently seems furthest from candidate status. “It is about our capacity to bring security and stability to our neighbourhood. There is no time to hesitate,” the Romanian president argued.

The status of candidate country does not mean that a country can join the EU one day at a time. Membership is preceded by years of negotiations in which a country must demonstrate that it respects basic democratic values, can economically hold its own in the European single market and adopt and comply with European regulations.

For a country like Ukraine, which is at war, has to be rebuilt and has not had the best reputation for corruption and the rule of law for a long time, the road is still very long. “President Zelensky has understood that candidate status is a path, not yet the goal. A path that requires profound reforms in Ukrainian society,” Draghi said.

European leaders also drew attention to the Balkan countries, some of which have been sitting in the waiting room for years. “It is a matter of credibility that we are finally delivering on our promise to the countries of the Western Balkans, who have been on this road for years, now and in concrete terms,” ​​said Scholz. The German emphasized that the accession criteria cannot be negotiated. “Democracy and the rule of law is what binds us in the EU and sets us apart from others.”

Russia believes that European leaders are only pursuing geopolitical interests with their support for Ukraine’s candidate for membership. “If Ukraine receives a road map to prepare for membership, it means that the EU is once again ready to forget its own criteria that have always existed for candidates and that the EU is ready to be guided only by geopolitical considerations” , said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on NTV.