by John Irish
PARIS (Reuters) – The decision to grant Ukraine European Union (EU) candidate status must be taken without weakening the bloc and without leaving Kyiv in limbo for years, said said a French official on Friday.
The European Commission (EC) will deliver its opinion on Ukraine’s application on June 17, and EU heads of state are expected to discuss it at a summit to be held the following week.
Even if Ukraine’s candidacy is approved, the procedure to become a full member of the EU takes several years and can be vetoed by any member state.
There are, however, divisions within the bloc over whether to grant candidate status. Some member states want a firm pledge to send a strong signal to Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, while others, including the Netherlands and Denmark, are more cautious.
The two major powers in the bloc, France and Germany, have also expressed reservations.
“We know that there are different sensitivities on the subject within the European Union,” a source within the French presidency told reporters.
“We will be attentive to the unity of the European Council. We also believe that the European Union must come out of this crisis in Ukraine strengthened and not weakened.”
Three European diplomats said the most likely scenario was for the EC, which will also give recommendations on Moldova and Georgia, to give the go-ahead, probably with conditions attached.
The heads of state would then, in all likelihood, find a “formula” that would not immediately give Ukraine candidate status, they explained.
“The philosophy has changed. No one is saying clearly no, but the more reserved states want to push back the deadline as much as possible,” said a European diplomat.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky told a conference in Denmark on Friday that grand declarations that Ukraine is part of the European family must be followed by action.
“Our position is clear: Ukraine needs a legal commitment, not a political promise. Hesitation is costing our country too much,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanichina wrote on Twitter on Thursday. a meeting with the EC.
French President Emmanuel Macron last month suggested creating a “European political community” that would create a new structure, allowing for closer cooperation with countries seeking to join the EU. This initiative has irritated Kyiv and several EU member states, who see it as an attempt to push back Ukraine’s membership.
“The answer to Ukraine’s needs does not lie in a statute, but in policies and in the demonstration of our solidarity,” the French official said.
“The worst (thing to do) would basically be that we give Ukraine a status and that 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years (later), or, if I take the case of the Turkey, almost 60 years later, we find that in fact nothing has happened.”
(French version Camille Raynaud)