“European Letdown”… The Allies’ “Loose” Positions Disappoint Volodymyr Zelensky
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited Kyiv on Thursday, and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and held a summit with him.
The Europeans provide military support to Ukraine to stand up to the military operations launched by Russia on February 24, 2022, while Kyiv says it is confronting the Russians on behalf of all of Europe.
Ukraine hopes to join the European Union, which currently consists of 27 members, with countries with a population of 450 million.
impassable path
According to the newspaper “The New York Times”, the path of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union does not seem clear yet, due to several considerations, at the forefront of which is the current war.
This factor can be described as fear of a “burden” if Ukraine is accepted, because the rest of the members will have to provide very large support.
The newspaper wrote that the European Union is still far from accepting the membership of a country that is witnessing a war and needs billions of dollars in order to rebuild and shake off the dust of the devastating conflict.
European Union officials find themselves facing a real dilemma. They want to encourage Ukraine to achieve the criteria required for accession such as political reforms, democracy and transparency, but at the same time they cannot make explicit promises about the return, that is, the accession process.
The Europeans are reluctant to make promises, in order to avoid finding themselves unable to fulfill them in the future, in the event that Kyiv achieves what is required of it.
“principle of entitlement”
Von der Leyen emphasized that joining the European Union is based on the principle of entitlement, meaning that a country becomes eligible to become a member when a number of conditions are met.
This statement from the powerful women in the European Union indicates that membership is not bound by a strict timetable, because the goal is to achieve the required reforms.
Von der Leyen praised Ukraine’s efforts, saying that Kyiv is accomplishing what she described as amazing, in terms of speed and quality.
As for Michel, he pointed out an important matter, which is that the start of accession talks with the European Union requires that all member states of the bloc agree.
Meanwhile, a joint statement between the European Union and Ukraine indicated that Kyiv had made efforts to join the bloc, explaining that the European Commission would submit a statement on the matter by next spring.
Recently, Ukraine announced the dismissal of a number of officials suspected of corruption, in an effort to send a signal that work is under way to enter the European bloc.
This position would make the Europeans more conservative about accepting the annexation of Ukraine, because they would then be closer to a direct conflict with Moscow, while the West would be careful not to put all eggs in the “Kyiv basket”.
But reforms are not the only obstacle facing Ukraine, because Russia does not hide its displeasure with this step, and previously considered it an outright provocation.
