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

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

Frans Timmermans asserted that they cannot let Russia win the 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 the EU needs to become independent of Russian energy imports and stressed that the "energy transition needs to be accelerated," as per the Kurier report. The European Commission Vice President stressed that in order to stop dependency on Russian energy imports, they need to increase the production of solar, wind energy and biomethane. 

The EU leaders will decide on whether Ukraine should be given candidate status to join the bloc on June 17. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been calling on the EU to allow Ukraine to become a member of the 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 the EU's support to the country.

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

EU Commission President meets Zelenskyy

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

Ursula von der Leyen stressed that the discussions with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and President Zelenskyy will enable the EU to finalise their 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 the discussions today will enable us to finalise our assessment by the end of next week."