Ukraine made “great strides” to join EU, says bloc’s chief
- 13 September, 21:45
The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said that Ukraine made “great strides” to become member of the European Union since being granted the candidate status back in 2022.
Addressing the European parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, the EU official pledged “endured” support for Ukraine in its EU accession.
“Accession is merit-based. It takes hard work and leadership. But there is already a lot of progress. We have seen the great strides Ukraine has already made since. Our support to Ukraine will endure.” Touching upon the Russian-Ukrainian war, Von der Leyen pledged the bloc’s extended protection for Ukrainian citizens who were forced to flee from their country due to Russia’s invasion. Furthermore, she stressed that the 27-nation bloc must prepare to expand to over 30 member countries.
“We will need to think about how our institutions would work – how the (EU) parliament and the commission would look. We need to discuss the future of our budget - in terms of what it finances, how it finances it, and how it is financed.”
Among those in line to become members of the European Union are Ukraine, Moldova and countries in the western Balkans. The European Commission is to decide whether to grant a formal start of membership negotiations.
