European Union
EU accession of Ukraine: Baerbock dampens expectations
“We don’t know when the step can be taken and how it can be done because they are currently in a terrible war,” says Annalena Baerbock on Ukraine’s aspired EU accession. Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa
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“Ukraine belongs to the house of Europe,” says the Foreign Minister. At the same time, Baerbock is reluctant to join the EU in the near future. “We must never make empty promises again.”
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is dampening expectations that Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia, will soon join the EU.
The Green politician reiterated: “Ukraine belongs to the house of Europe.” But when asked about joining the EU, she added: “We don’t know when the step can be taken and how it can be done because they are in a terrible war right now.”
After the Russian attack on February 24, Ukraine had asked for quick accession to the European Union and had already submitted documents that could form the basis for accession talks. Baerbock had already expressed reservations about the application for membership at the end of February, pointing out that such a procedure usually takes years.
“We must never make empty promises again”
At her appearance at the Frankfurt University Viadrina in Frankfurt an der Oder, she said: “We must never make empty promises again.” That is why the accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, which have been in the works for a long time, must be opened before the end of this six-month period.
Baerbock reiterated the call to Russia to end the Ukraine war immediately. In a speech, the Foreign Minister made the connection to European unification. “Russia’s war negates everything that our Europe, created after 1945 and after 1989, stands for: peace and freedom, democracy and human dignity,” she said.
Germany stands firmly on the side of its Central and Eastern European allies and is also taking its responsibility seriously by stationing more soldiers on NATO’s eastern flank. But Europe’s strength goes far beyond military support and includes social networking in particular.
“Then that means that Europe is not only an economic union, but also a union of values,” said Baerbock. It was a fatal illusion to believe that economic networking alone would bring democratization and values. “We’ve seen that in this war of aggression,” Baerbock said. “Economic interests and values are very closely related.” Right now, Europe must also be deepened. “That means building a clear foundation of values,” she added.