European Commission's Timmermans asserts bloc cannot 'say no' to Ukraine's candidature

European Commission Vice President, Frans Timmermans, has said that y cannot reveal a date for Ukraine's possible accession to bloc. He asserted that y cannot "say no" to Ukraine if y wish to join EU as war-torn nation has been defending European values, Kurier reported citing ORF's ZiB2. statement of EU Commission President comes at a time EU Commission is set to take a decision on wher Ukraine will be granted EU candidate status or not. 

Frans Timmermans asserted that y cannot let Russia win war with regard to sanctions. Timmermans emphasised that Europe should not cause harm to itself through a gas embargo as it could result in a "split." He asserted that EU needs to become independent of Russian energy imports and stressed that "energy transition needs to be accelerated," as per Kurier report. European Commission Vice President stressed that in order to stop dependency on Russian energy imports, y need to increase production of solar, wind energy and biomethane. 

EU leers will decide on wher Ukraine should be given candidate status to join bloc on June 17. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been calling on EU to allow Ukraine to become a member of 27-nation bloc. Since Russia's military offensive in Ukraine began on February 24, senior EU officials, including Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel have visited Ukraine to showcase EU's support to country.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola on June 8, said that EU Parliament will continue to support Ukraine as y apply for EU candidate status. She stressed that y need to send a clear message that "Ukraine's place is within our European family." Notably, EU nations have been supporting Ukraine against Russian military offensive by opting sanctions against Kremlin. 

EU Commission President meets Zelenskyy

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen visited Kyiv on June 11. She held a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reaffirming bloc's support for war-torn nation. In her statement with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ursula von der Leyen said, "We want to channel investments and deliver reforms so that we improve lives of Ukrainians; we rebuild Ukraine; we make Ukraine attractive for investors, a conducive environment for business sector; and, of course, support Ukraine in pursuing its European path."

Ursula von der Leyen stressed that discussions with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and President Zelenskyy will enable EU to finalise ir assessment. Ursula von der Leyen said, "We have been working day and night on this assessment. And I promised you in April, dear Volodymyr, that we will be working tirelessly on it. So discussions today will enable us to finalise our assessment by end of next week."