French, German, Italian and Romanian leaders are all in favor of granting Ukraine “immediate” official status as a candidate for entry into the European Union, French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday during a meeting. press conference of European leaders in Kyiv.
“All four of us support the status of immediate candidate for membership,” Macron said after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accompanied by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
“This status will be accompanied by a roadmap and will also involve taking into account the situation of the Balkans and the neighborhood, in particular of Moldova”, he added, during this press briefing organized in the gardens. of the Ukrainian presidential palace.
The head of the Italian government confirmed this position.
In images, in pictures : In Irpin, Macron, Scholz and Draghi in front of Russian “barbarism”
“A path and not a point” fixed
Italy “wants Ukraine in the European Union”, said Mario Draghi, “it wants Ukraine to have candidate status and will support this position at the next European Council”, he added.
But he hinted that it could be a long road before joining. “The path from candidate to member (of the EU) is a path, not a ‘fixed point’, he stressed.
Emmanuel Macron, for his part, again assured his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky: “Europe is by your side, it will remain so as long as necessary”.
European leaders must decide at a summit on June 23 and 24 whether to grant this status as a candidate for membership, the first step in a process of negotiations that could last for years. The Commission is due to make its recommendation known on Friday.
Regarding the deliveries of heavy weapons that Ukraine has been demanding for weeks to resist the Russian offensive in the Donbass, Emmanuel Macron also announced that France would deliver to Ukraine “six additional Caesars”, these self-propelled guns known for their precision and mobility.
“Beyond the 12 Caesars already delivered, I made the decision to deliver six additional Caesars,” he said after talks with Mr. Zelensky.