Other states have priority
Scholz: No quick EU accession for Ukraine
May 10, 2022, 5:11 p.m
Brussels and Kyiv have been getting closer for years. Not least against the background of the Russian war of aggression, the Ukrainian government would like to be admitted to the EU. However, Germany is dampening expectations of rapid accession.
In the debate on Ukraine’s EU accession, Chancellor Olaf Scholz insists that the EU negotiations with the six Western Balkan countries must have priority. Apart from that, the same standards and requirements would apply to all accession negotiations, he said when discussing whether the accession modalities for Ukraine should be shortened. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said that in the case of Ukraine there could be a two-pronged approach: EU accession will certainly take a long time, but the country could be tied more closely to the EU beforehand.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also holds out the prospect of Ukraine becoming a full member of the European Union. On the way there, however, there can be “no shortcut,” said the Green politician during her visit to Kyiv. In addition, the EU itself needs a reform in order to be able to accept the country as a full member. She is confident that Ukraine will receive “clear candidate status”, but there should be “no empty promises” on the way forward.
With the Federal Foreign Minister, a member of the Federal Government has traveled to the country for the first time since the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. At the start of her visit, Baerbock got an idea of the destruction of the Kiev suburb of Bucha. Butscha has become a symbol for “unimaginable crimes” such as “torture, rape, murder,” Baerbock said on Twitter. On behalf of Germany, she promised Ukraine full support in investigating the “war crimes” that had been committed there.
Majority supports trips to Kyiv by Scholz and Steinmeier
Scholz welcomed the fact that Bundestag President Bärbel Bas and Foreign Minister Baerbock had traveled to Ukraine. He was glad that Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had agreed that the Foreign Minister should travel to Kyiv, he said. “This is a good basis for the still important collaborative relationships that we have,” added the SPD politician.
After the diplomatic upset caused by Steinmeier’s disinvitation, both the Federal President and the Federal Chancellor have now been officially invited to Kyiv. According to a Forsa survey, a large majority of people in Germany support such visits. In the current RTL/ntv trend barometer, 72 and 74 percent respectively said that Steinmeier and Scholz should accept invitations to Kyiv.