BRUSSELS (AP) – France’s President warned on Monday that decades could pass before Ukraine joins the European Union (EU), and proposed a new political organisation to bring together countries on the continent that share EU values but are not part of the bloc.
During a speech marking Europe Day, Emmanuel Macron said that “we all know perfectly that the process of allowing (Ukraine) to join would take several years, in fact probably several decades”.
Macron spoke after the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, said it aims to deliver a first opinion in June on Ukraine’s request to become a member of the bloc.
Once candidate status is granted, the process of EU membership usually takes years and any single member-state can veto not only any final accession deal, but also the opening and closing of individual negotiation chapters.
The 27 EU nations have been united in backing Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion, adopting unprecedented economic sanctions against Moscow.
But leaders are divided on how fast Brussels could move to accept Ukraine as a member, and how swiftly the bloc could sever energy ties with Moscow.
For now, Ukraine only has an ‘Association Agreement’ with the EU, which is aimed at opening the country’s markets and bringing it closer to Europe. It includes a far-reaching free trade pact and is intended to help modernise Ukraine’s economy.
Eastern European countries warmly support speeding up Ukraine’s membership bid, but EU officials have stressed the process could take years due to the outstanding reforms that still need to be achieved to meet EU criteria. Macron said a fast-track procedure would lead to lowering standards, an idea he refuses.
“The EU, given its level of integration and ambition, cannot be the only way to structure the European continent in the short term,” he said.
Instead, Macron proposed what he called a ‘European Political Community’ which would be open to countries that haven’t joined the EU or have left it.
“This new European organisation would allow democratic European nations that adhere to our core values to find a new space for political cooperation, security, energy cooperation, transport, investment, infrastructure, movement of people,” Macron said.
Macron added that joining the new organisation would not guarantee future EU membership.
Speaking later on Monday ahead of a meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Macron added that it was important to give Ukraine an “honest answer” about the time it would take to achieve European standards.
Scholz said Macron’s idea was “a very interesting proposal for dealing with the big challenge we face”.
But he said the EU shouldn’t stop pursuing the accession processes for those countries where it has already begun, citing as an example North Macedonia, whose leader had taken “very brave” decisions in recent years.
“We should find a way that this bravery isn’t disappointed,” Scholz said.
