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Germany Says 'No Shortcuts' For Ukraine On EU Path, Prompting Criticism From Kyiv

By RFE/RL May 19, 2022

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Ukraine's bid to join the European Union cannot be fast-tracked despite Russia's invasion, a statement Kyiv said amounted to "second-class" treatment.

"There are no shortcuts on the way to the EU," Scholz told the Bundestag -- Germany's lower house of parliament -- on May 19, adding that an exception for Ukraine would be unfair to Western Balkan countries also seeking membership.

"The accession process is not a matter of a few months or years," Scholz said.

Scholz called for other ways to help Ukraine in the short term, saying the priority was to "concentrate on supporting Ukraine quickly and pragmatically."

French President Emmanuel Macron has also said it will take "decades" for a candidate like Ukraine to join the EU, and suggested establishing a broader political organization beyond the bloc that could even include Britain.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reacted to Scholz's statement by criticizing the "second-class treatment" of Kyiv by some EU countries that he said "hurt feelings of Ukrainians."

"Strategic ambiguity on Ukraine's European perspective practiced by some EU capitals in the past years has failed and must end," he said on Twitter.

This had "only emboldened" Russian President Vladimir Putin, he added.

Scholz said on May 19 that he would be attending the EU summit at the end of the month "with the clear message that the Western Balkans belong in the EU.

"For years, they have been undertaking intensive reforms and preparing for accession," Scholz said.

"It is not only a question of our credibility that we keep our promises to them. Today more than ever, their integration is also in our strategic interest," he said.

The 27-member bloc's leaders at a summit in Slovenia in October 2021 stopped short of offering a concrete timetable for membership to the six Western Balkans candidates, reiterating only the bloc's "commitment to the enlargement process."

The EU statement was met with disappointment by Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo.

Financial Lifeline

Meanwhile, finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies have begun a meeting in Germany as they look to shore up funding for Ukraine.

"I'm quite optimistic that we will be able at this G7 meeting to raise funding which allows Ukraine to defend itself over the next months," German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said at the opening of the meeting just outside of Bonn.

Since Russia launched its invasion on February 24, Ukraine has seen its economy decimated and millions displaced from their homes.

Kyiv, which estimated its running a $5 billion monthly budget deficit, has looked to the West for help finance its government and the war effort, and Linder said a "double-digit, billion-euro" figure was needed to assure Ukraine's "liquidity."

The meeting comes a day after the U.S. Senate approved an almost $40 billion package of military and financial aid for Ukraine, while the European Union has proposed an increase in aid for Kyiv of around $10 billion.

The G7 consists of Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Britain, and the United States.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-eu- germany-no-shortcuts/31858063.html

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Germany Says 'No Shortcuts' For Ukraine On EU Path, Prompting Criticism From Kyiv