Poland Prez to travel across Europe to convince bloc nations to support Ukraine's EU bid

Amid the war between Moscow and Kyiv, Polish President Andrzej Duda has started his trip to southern Europe to convince bloc countries to support granting Ukraine the EU candidate status. During his tour of Southern Europe, Duda will visit Portugal to meet Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Eurointegration reported.

After he visits Portugal, he will travel to Italy to hold talks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella. 

The development has been confirmed by the Chancellery of the President of Poland. Following his trip to Italy, he will be arriving in Romania to attend the Bucharest Nine Summit. As per the news report, Slovakian President Zuzana Chaputova was scheduled to accompany her Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda. However, Chaputova's trip has been cancelled as she tested positive for COVID-19.

During his meeting with the leaders of Italy, Portugal and Romania, Duda will discuss on possibility of Ukraine's membership in the EU, as per the Eurointegration report. He will also speak about the issue of food exports from Ukraine in his meeting with Prime Minister of Portugal, Antonio Costa, and Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Polish President Andrzej Duda has informed that they will speak about the measures that need to be taken to export the grains from Ukraine. The leaders of Poland and Slovakia in May announced their plans to convince the bloc countries to support the idea of granting Ukraine the EU candidate status.

Notably, Poland continues to support Ukraine since Russia began its offensive and has welcomed Ukrainian refugees into their country. 

Ukrainian Parliament Chairman calls on EU to grant membership status to Ukraine

Ruslan Stefanchuk, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, called on the EU to give candidate status to Ukraine. Stefanchuk asserted that the refusal of the EU would give an indication to Russian President Vladimir Putin that “he can be totally going forward without any punishment.”

As per the AP report, European leaders are expected to consider Ukraine's bid for EU candidate status at the end of June. In his speech, Ruslan Stefanchuk said, “Let’s do everything possible that on the 24th of June we’ll see a watershed day, an important day for us, and our joint great victory,” according to AP.  The European Parliament President Roberta Metsola welcomed the speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament for the Plenary Session at the EU Parliament in Strasbourg. In her speech, Metsola 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."

Image: AP

Inputs from AP