The Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg has met with sharp criticism from Kyiv with considerations of binding Ukraine to other than formal accession to the European Union.
Schallenberg had spoken about "tailor-made offers for the closest possible connection" to the EU from Ukraine, but also from Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, which do not necessarily have to go through full membership.
For example, he could imagine a system in which these states fully integrate themselves in specific areas such as energy, transport and the internal market without being a formal member of the EU.
Stephen Lowenstein
Political correspondent based in Vienna.
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Gerhard Gnauck
Political correspondent for Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania based in Warsaw.
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In view of a lengthy accession process, one must be careful about the expectations generated by discussions about full membership.
In addition, the countries of the Western Balkans must not be forgotten, which have been waiting for the opening of accession negotiations for years.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba replied that Ukrainians are paying a very high price for the mistakes made by many European governments.
Apparently, for some, “the war, the victims and the destruction are still not enough”.
Postponing Ukraine's EU accession or seeking other options means "approving Putin's aggressive plans and slowing down the strengthening of the EU through its association with Ukraine's potential."
The ministry said Ukraine expects an objective assessment of its merits and strategic role for the EU.
Schallenberg also received domestic criticism, for example via the Twitter account of his ÖVP party friend, EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn, and from individual politicians in the Green coalition partner in Vienna.