The EU is nervous about Ukraine’s fitness to join the 27-country bloc, but Zelensky used his visit to Brussels to argue that European security depends on it.
| Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stepped up his pressure on the European Union to bring his country into the 27-member bloc, saying accession talks and even membership should start this year.of western European capitals, trying to bounce nervous EU governments into speeding up a process that can take years and even decades.
He said the prospect of joining the EU was helping to motivate Ukrainians in their fight against the Russian invasion, and its soldiers were battling for the European ideal. “Your track record shows you are able to deliver fast and at high quality even as you fight an aggressor, even as you are at war.”Transparency International last year ranked Ukraine the third most corrupt country in Europe after Russia and Azerbaijan. But Mr Zelensky recently launched an anti-corruption drive that has already claimed several ministerial scalps and has even threatened the job of Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov.
She did offer an olive branch, though, saying the European Commission would bring Ukraine into several of its key programs, which would “give Ukraine benefits close to membership in many areas”.“While Ukraine advances down the European path, we are tearing down barriers between our economies and societies even further,” she said.
One meeting was reportedly with a group from Ukraine’s key cheerleaders, such as the Baltic states. Another was with the countries with big defence forces, such as Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Poland. And a third grouping comprised the leaders of more tepid supporters such as Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria and Cyprus.
One of Mr Putin’s aims in invading Ukraine was to prevent the country joining NATO or deepening its military and political alignment with the West - although the war has so far had precisely the opposite effect.
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