Former European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker has warned against Ukraine’s hasty accession to the European Union (EU). The country is “corrupt at all levels of society.” It needs large-scale internal reform processes (see video above). EU Council President Charles Michel, who supports Ukraine’s accession, sees it differently.
“Ukraine can belong to the EU in 2030 if both parties do their homework,” Michel told Spiegel (Tuesday). He called on the EU to speed up the decision-making process. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has also repeatedly spoken out in favor of accession. It is up to Germany to continue building the EU.
However, former head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker has now expressed his concerns. “Anyone who has had anything to do with Ukraine knows that it is a country that is corrupt at all levels of society. Despite the efforts, the country is not eligible for accession; it needs large-scale internal reform processes,” he said. The EU has had bad experiences with the rule of law with some “so-called new members”. This must not happen again.
“No false promises”
Moreover, the Ukrainian people should not be given false promises that they are already “up to their necks in suffering.” However, Juncker countered that a “European perspective” is needed for Moldova and Ukraine. “We have to work to make something like partial accession possible, an intelligent form of near-expansion.” For the Luxembourger, this also includes European integration and European values.
As reported, the Ukrainian government has so far only met a few of the criteria required for EU accession negotiations. The main obstacles are the fight against corruption and oligarchs. The country was declared a candidate for membership in June.
Source: Krone
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