German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock championed Ukraine towards launching its European Union membership bid, ahead of a crucial meeting in December to decide on the future of membership plans.
The European Council will meet in Dec 14-15 and among the various items up for discussions they will also decide whether to grant Ukraine formal start to membership talks. Prior to the meeting, the European Commission will release on Nov 8 a report to review current progress towards EU membership by Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Western Balkan states.
Baerbock said on Nov 2 at a conference in Berlin with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba that she was confident that the EU will green-light Ukraine’s request. “The European Union has to be enlarged. That is the geo-political consequence of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” she said.
The EU membership process will still be lengthy for Ukraine, it takes years to reach the required legal, economic and political conditions. Not to mention that the war with Russia complicates Ukraine’s status. However, it is crucial that the process starts to avoid that Russia creates what Baerbock called “an imperial trench” around “not only Ukraine but also Moldova, Georgia and the Western Balkans.”
Membership talks have came under scrutiny recently as the EU ponders how to reform itself for better governance. There is the fear that enlargement in the current system may create imbalances. Baerbock is at the forefront of the push for EU reform but said that enlargement should run parallel with reforms.
