In a daring geopolitical move brought on by Russia’s invasion and hailed as a “historic occasion,” Ukraine became a candidate to join the European Union on Thursday.
As Russian assaults on two cities in the eastern Donbas region move toward a “fearsome climax,” a Ukrainian government adviser believes that starting on the arduous path to EU membership will be a major boost to morale in the beleaguered nation.
After the official declaration, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated on Twitter that “Ukraine’s future is in the EU.”
The European race includes the inhabitants of Ukraine. The EU is Ukraine’s future, according to Josep Borrell, the head of the bloc’s foreign policy. “We will travel a great distance together, and today is the first step on that adventure.”
Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv officially requested candidate status, and the EU expedited its acceptance.
Moldova, a neighbour of Ukraine, received candidate status six years to the day after Britons decided to leave the EU, and Georgia, another ex-Soviet member, was informed that it would receive the same after meeting additional requirements.
EU leaders emphasised that these nations will have a lot of “homework” to do, and that the group may need to adjust how it operates to handle its most ambitious growth since the post-Cold War enlargement of Eastern European states.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EU Commission, stated at a news conference, “I am certain that they (Ukraine and Moldova) will move as quickly as possible and work as hard as they can to execute the required reforms.“
“SIGNAL TO RUSSIA “
The EU’s approval is a signal to Moscow that Ukraine and other former Soviet Union nations cannot be a part of the Russian spheres of influence,” “Vsevolod Chentsov, the EU ambassador for Ukraine, said earlier on Thursday.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, claims that Western intrusion into what Russia views as its proper geographic sphere of influence was a contributing factor in the need for his country’s “special military operation” initiated in Ukraine in late February.
The EU today has 27 members and faces numerous issues, including climate change, China’s ascent, and a war on their own soil. The EU began in 1951 as an organisation of six countries to govern industrial production.
Featured Image: theguardian.com
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