Lithuania PM believes some EU states think 'it's too early' to grant Ukraine candidacy

There is no consensus reached among the EU member states on granting candidate status to Ukraine, although there’s still a hope for a “positive decision,” Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Šimonite said in an interview with Newsweek on June 13. Šimonite stressed that some of the EU member states believe that it may be too early to add Kyiv into the 27-member bloc and the Union remains divided. In February, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had requested the European Union to allow his country to gain membership under a special procedure. "I'm sure that's fair. I am sure we deserve it," he had said in a then recorded speech. 

'It may be too early to grant candidate status to Ukraine...'

"There are opinions that it may be too early, it is not according to the rules, it is also contrary to the approach to the Western Balkans, and I think it is pathetic. The Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership are equally important in this process," Simonite told the news magazine on June 13.

The Lithuanian leader affirmed that it is both a strategic decision and a moral duty to ensure that Ukraine's membership in the EU gets a green light. She, however, added that some of the member states are "actually dying for the values enshrined in European law.” 

“I know this seems strange to many countries because Ukraine is at war. And you are launching a process that the country may not be able to cope with, because he has more urgent matters," Simonite said, adding that the process is necessary for the war torn nation’s own security. She also explained that the candidate status would not be same as “full membership” into the European Union. 

"The start of negotiations is a rather long process. If they fail, the answer is clear. Therefore, I actually see very limited risks," said the Lithuanian Prime Minister.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during her visit to Kyiv said at a press conference that Ukraine's membership into the EU will be decided as early as end of next week. Speaking alongside her Ukrainian counterpart, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ursula von der Leyen said that ''EU will finalize our assessment by the end of next week” disclosing an actual timeline publicly for the first time since Kyiv's long pending application. But Ukraine will require the consensus of all 27 EU governments to have its candidacy approved. 

“We want to support Ukraine in its European journey,” Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint press conference alongside Zelenskyy. “The discussions today will enable us to finalise the assessment by the end of next week,” she said, adding that while Ukrainian officials have “done a lot” towards a candidacy, there was “still need for reforms to be implemented, to fight corruption for example.”

Image: AP