STA, 24 February 2022 - Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša and his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki called for Ukraine's EU accession by 2030 in a letter to the president of the European Council and their EU counterparts in the face of Russia's aggression in Ukraine. They urged prompt and brave decisions in what they termed as "battle for Europe".
In the joint letter to European Council President Charles Michel and leaders of EU countries ahead of the EU summit on the Ukraine crisis they said Ukraine should get the status of a candidate for EU membership as soon as possible and become a member in 2030 after meeting all the conditions.
The EU must be strong and united in the face of Russia's threat, introduce immediate sanctions but also "go much further", reads the letter seen by the STA on Wednesday.
The European Council would need to strategically assess the situation and take brave political decisions, they noted.
"We need to prepare an ambitious and tangible plan for rapid integration of Ukraine into the EU by 2030." The pair believe the same plan is needed also for Georgia, Moldova and Western Balkan countries.
The plan must be specific, with clearly defined steps, timeline and a membership guarantee by 2030 provided that all conditions are met.
The first phase must be a decision on immediate recognition of a European perspective for Ukraine and then Ukraine must obtain the status of an EU candidate country as soon as it requests for membership.
The fact that Ukraine at the moment does not control all of its territory must not be an argument against its EU accession. The EU has already shown how such situations should be tackled, Janša and Morawiecki said.
They did admit though that supporting Ukrainian EU accession would require substantial financial means.
However, this process can only have positive effects, as it would be in line with the EU's fundamental historic mission and its values and principles, while it would also give hope and motivation to Ukrainian people in defending their homeland, sovereignty and democracy.
As regards the effect that such a plan would have on relations with Russia, the two prime ministers stressed that the process of European integration was not directed against anyone and was in no way a threat to Russia.
The EU with new members would remain open to cooperation with the Russian people and if the Russian side agreed, to building the strategic partnership that was once set as a goal.
"It is time for swift and brave decisions. A battle for Europe is under way. History of the last two decades teaches us that if the EU does not expand, someone else does. Now we are paying the price of ignoring this."
The pair said that unless the EU learned from this, the cost of ignorance would only increase in the future.
