The leaders of all 27 EU states pledged to strengthen ties with Kyiv and to “support Ukraine in pursuing its European path” following a two-day summit in Versailles, France.
In a joint statement, EU leaders also said that “Ukraine belongs to the European family”.
However, they rejected President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call for Ukraine to be quickly admitted to the EU as the war with Russia continues. The accession process usually takes years or even decades, with the candidate country having to meet certain criteria set by the EU.
The host of the summit, Frenchman Emanuel Macron, said the bloc would make no exceptions for Ukraine.
“We could have excellent measures for a country at war without meeting the criteria [for joining the EU]? “The answer is no,” he said after the summit on Friday.
His comments echo those of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who has previously said that “there is no such thing as a speedy accession process – it does not exist”. German Chancellor Olaf Soltz was also opposed to the idea, saying the EU’s association agreement with Kyiv in 2017 was a way to deepen ties.
“It’s very important that we continue to pursue the things we have decided in the past – this is the path we must take,” Scholz said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made a more positive note, saying Ukrainians were exercising “their right to choose their own destiny” by starting the EU accession process.
“Today we have paved the way for Ukraine,” he said.
The EU is increasing Ukraine’s military aid to one billion euros
While avoiding Ukraine’s rapid entry into the bloc, EU leaders said they would double their military aid by committing another 500m euros ($ 550m) in military aid to the Kiev government. These funds come in excess of the € 500 million raised last week – the first time the EU has bought weapons for a third country under attack.
“Russia’s war of aggression is a tectonic shift in European history,” EU leaders said in a statement.
They also pledged to strengthen the bloc’s defense capabilities outside of the US-led NATO, reduce the EU’s energy dependence on Russia, and build the bloc ‘s economic base in various areas, including raw materials, food and digital technologies.
Macron: “Nothing is taboo” in sanctions
The EU unveiled another wave of sanctions against Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
French President Macron has said that nothing is “taboo, nothing is taboo” in terms of sanctions and that tougher steps could be taken.
“If the Russian president” intensifies the bombing, besieges Kyiv and intensifies the war scenes, we know we will have to take huge sanctions again, “Macron told reporters.
Germany’s Scholz, meanwhile, said EU sanctions had already had “dramatic consequences” for the Russian economy, while arguing that cutting off Russian oil and gas imports was not possible for many EU members. Canada and the United Kingdom, all oil producers on their own, have taken similar action, and Ukraine has urged the EU to follow suit. Instead, the bloc is committed to drastically reducing its dependence on Russian imports in the coming years.
dj / msh (Reuters, dpa, AP, AFP, Interfax)
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