Ukraine belongs in the European Union and the bloc would like to see the country join it in time, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Euronews on Sunday.
“Indeed over time, they belong to us. They are one of us and we want them in,” she said.
The comments follow a historic ballot by the 27-nation EU – a vote to supply weapons to Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed for his country’s urgent accession to the bloc this weekend and says he has discussed the prospect with EU leaders.
We have a process with Ukraine that is, for example, integrating the Ukrainian market into the single market. We have very close cooperation on the energy grid, for example. So many topics where we work very closely together and indeed over time, they belong to us. They are one of us and we want them in.
But while President von der Leyen provided her personal backing, she gave no indications regarding timescales. The accession of Ukraine has previously been stalled by the seemingly unwillingness of the country’s political class to address issues of institutionalised corruption, a situation that has also until now scuppered Ukraine’s ambitions to join NATO.
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