The request of Ukraine to join the EU was emphasized, in the most categorical way, by the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaking in the European Parliament.
The reception was warm, the applause loud but the seats half empty. But it was the right time for the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, to reiterate a clear demand: Ukraine is seeking full EU membership and wants to become a “candidate country” immediately in June. To be precise, on 24 June, at the forthcoming EU Summit.
“It would be a clear message,” Stefanchuk told the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday. “A message saying that what you are doing is not in vain. If we do not take this message, Putin will get the corresponding message, a message telling him that he can continue to do what he is doing, without any punishment.”
“Punishment”, sanctions, redress
In his speech, the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament called on European governments to impose further sanctions on Moscow. “It is important that this war is not funded,” he said. “Thank you for the sanctions you have imposed so far, but the war continues. More needs to be done to make the war unprofitable.” In addition, Ruslan Stefanchuk warned that after the end of the war “those responsible should be found guilty, punished and rebuilt at their own expense.”
The speaker of the Ukrainian parliament accused the Kremlin of “lying” because, as he characteristically stressed, “they deleted Mariupol from the map, bombed churches, claim that they are trying to prevent a global food crisis, while at the same time carrying out raids on agricultural crops.” “For the genocide of the Ukrainian population, the inhabitants are killed just because they are Ukrainians. These are war crimes.” It is recalled that Ireland, which holds the presidency of the Council of Europe until November 2022, has announced its intention to promote initiatives for the prosecution of war crimes in Ukraine.
91% of Ukrainians are in favor of membership
In joint statements with European Parliament President Roberta Metzola shortly before his speech in plenary, Ruslan Stefanchuk said that 91% of Ukrainians support the country’s accession to the EU, a percentage “unprecedented”, as he characteristically stated. This argument is particularly important for Kiev’s request to join the EU, as it overturns the old narrative that wanted Ukraine to be a rather divided country, with half the population turning to Russia.
Giannis Papadimitriou, Strasbourg
Source: Deutsche Welle
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