The foreign ministers of the 27 are meeting this Monday to discuss Kyiv’s accession. Their Ukrainian counterpart warns them against disagreement.
“We have done our part of the job. We expect the European Union to do its own“, declared Dmytro Kouleba three days before a European summit decisive for the future of the Union, warning against “devastating consequences” what a lack of consensus would have. The leaders of the 27 must in fact decide at the end of the week on the launch of Ukraine’s accession negotiations.
“You cannot go against the direction of History“, believes the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs. “Ukraine will become a member of the EU. The only question is whether anyone will slow down the process – which will come at a cost – or whether we will be able to move forward smoothly.“.
If the European Commission has declared itself in favor of opening negotiations for accession to the European Union with Ukraine, as with Moldova, Hungary is firmly opposed to it. For Viktor Orban, the EU must first have a “strategic debate” on the future of its relations with Ukraine before any new rapprochement.
The position of the Hungarian Prime Minister is widely criticized within institutions and member countries. “I hope that the unity of the European Union will not be broken, because now is not the time to weaken our support for Ukraine“, worried Josep Borrell upon his arrival in Brussels before a meeting of the foreign ministers of the 27.
“Hungary’s position turned out to be truly deplorable“, said the Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elina Valtonene. “It is crucial that we continue to support Ukraine for as long as necessary“, she added.
The EU executive also proposed allocating 50 billion euros in aid until 2027 to Ukraine, as part of a mid-term review of the EU’s long-term budget.
