German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is convinced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not win the war against Ukraine. “The bitter chapter in the history of our continent will end when free Ukraine joins the European Union as a full member,” Scholz said on Tuesday. He stressed that the SPD in particular should clearly take Ukraine’s side in the conflict.
Because it is also thanks to the détente policy of former chancellor Willy Brandt that the principles of non-use of violence, inviolability of borders, territorial integrity of states and the right of peoples to self-determination apply in Europe today.
“We Social Democrats stand behind all these principles with deep conviction,” he said at the celebration of the SPD’s 160th anniversary, referring to the internal debate among the Social Democrats about their course in Russia.
In the EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and the Western Balkans, Scholz emphasizes that there should be no politically motivated shortcuts. “This path follows a defined process and certain rules,” Scholz said. “And, of course, all candidates must also adopt European social standards,” he added.
Also clear signals towards the Western Balkans
The Chancellor underlined once again that he sees Ukraine as a member of the EU in the future. “The same goes for the Western Balkan states, for Moldova and eventually also for Georgia.” The background to this is the demands, especially from Ukraine, to join the EU very quickly.
Referring to the Greens, Scholz argued that the SPD should see the fight against climate change as an “existential transformation” and not a one-party affair. He also campaigned for pragmatism in the SPD. The party is always attractive to voters if it implements the duality between programmatic claims and pragmatic action, said Scholz, who emphatically emphasized that he spoke as Social Democratic chancellor.
Source: Krone
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