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France and Germany may be drawing up plans for a multispeed EU, but Ukraine is making quite clear it doesn’t want to be fobbed off with second-tier membership.
Kyiv is aiming to become a “fully fledged candidate for full fledged membership” of the European Union, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told POLITICO as he vowed to take his country into the EU within the next two years.
Shmyhal made the pitch for full EU membership as the debate about enlargement heats up, ahead of a series of key meetings in the coming months. France and Germany have been pushing for an alternative option to full EU status, based around four different concentric circles of membership. This could constitute the framework for gradual integration.
Shmyhal, however, made clear Ukraine would not be putting up with the go-slow version.
“We are performing all the maximum efforts to ensure that Ukraine would become a fully fledged member of the European Union. This is of critical importance for all Ukrainians.”
While noting it was ultimately a political decision for member states, he added: “I rest assured that within two years we shall be fully and completely ready to be part of the European Union.”
While eight countries have been granted EU candidate status, including a group of countries in the Western Balkans that have been waiting to proceed to the next step in the accession process for years, Shmyhal argued that Ukraine has a unique case to make for EU membership.
“We want to be a fully fledged member because Ukraine today is the unique country across the world that has paid such a huge price for its will to become a European Union member. No single other candidate country to the European Union has ever had such a huge support of the population — over 90 percent of Ukrainians — wishing, willing and wanting to become a fully fledged European member.”
Smhyal said Ukraine had met all seven conditions set out by the European Commission in June 2022 to proceed to the next stage in the accession process, after a resolution passed by the Cabinet this week. This included a recognition of the rights of national minorities — a move largely seen as an olive branch to Hungary, which has objected to the treatment of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine.
“We are ready to go. We expect that no later than October we can have the positive situation with the assessment of our progress by the European Commission and so that the European Council can vote and take the decision to start negotiation talks with Ukraine.”
The European Commission, which is assessing Ukraine’s progress, is due to publish its annual enlargement package next month, which will be the launch pad for a discussion among EU leaders at December’s European Council meeting.
Shmyhal confirmed Ukrainian diplomats are lobbying national capitals hard about the need to proceed with Ukraine’s membership process. “Ukraine, as an EU member, would not be bringing problems to the European Union. On the contrary, Ukraine will assist in resolving many problematic issues in the European Union,” he said, highlighting areas like energy independence, security, defense, and the economy.
Shmyhal also sought to smoothe the waters with Poland following the recent spat between the two countries over exports of Ukrainian grain, claiming that Ukrainians who have fled the country for Poland have contributed 0.5 percent of GDP to the Polish economy. Some €4.5 billion of remittances have also been wired to Ukrainians in Poland since the start of the war, he said.
“I would like to express the words of gratitude to the Polish nation and all Polish families for the support that they have given and have provided to Ukrainian refugees.”
Ukraine is expected to be represented at next week’s meeting of the European Political Community in Granada, which will convene EU and non-EU leaders.
