Zelensky rejects Macron’s proposal for Ukraine to join ‘European political community’

Any alternative to Ukraine’s bid for membership of the European Union would be a “compromise” with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today in response to a draft “European political community” proposed by his French counterpart Emanuel Macron.

“We do not need alternatives to Ukraine’s EU bid, we do not need such compromises,” Zelensky told a news conference in Kyiv with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa. “Because, believe us, it will not be a compromise with Ukraine in Europe, it will be another compromise between Europe and Russia. I am absolutely sure of that. It is the influence and the political and diplomatic pressure exerted by the Russian officials and “lobbyists in a European country ‘s decision to support or not to support Ukraine.”

Macron presented his plan on May 9 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, while discussions are under way to start the accession process. The French president explained that it would take “decades” for Ukraine to join, and suggested that in the meantime it join a “European political community” that could also include Britain and Moldova. The plan, to be discussed at an EU summit in late June, has been criticized by some leaders, including Lithuanian President Gitana Nauseda, who saw it as a reflection of Brussels’ unwillingness to allow Ukraine to join the bloc quickly.

Source: AMPE

Source: Capital

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