PARIS -
Since Ukraine formally applied to join the European Union on February 28, its President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeated his appeal that it should be done immediately "under a new special procedure".
Earlier, Zelensky said, in a video message to the European Parliament, "We are striving to become a full member of Europe, and I think we are showing the whole world today that we deserve it."
The Ukrainian president stressed that his country is very close to joining the European Union, and that the European Commission and his government are moving together towards this strategic goal.
The positions of the representatives of 27 European countries regarding the Ukrainian request vary between welcoming and farewell to expediting the accession procedures, and between rejection and demands for delay.
And the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced, last week, in a tweet on Twitter, that the Commission will give its opinion next month on the issue of Ukraine's candidacy to join the European Union.
Al Jazeera Net deals in a question-and-answer format with observers and analysts, the aspects related to the possibility, possibility and risks of Ukraine joining the union.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signs an application to join the European Union (Anatolia)
What are the conditions for a new country to join the European Union?
The conditions for a new country's accession to the European Union are called the "Copenhagen criteria" set by the Lisbon Treaty, and the Council of the Union refers applications for accession to the Commission and asks it to assess the ability of that country to adhere to these criteria, which are summarized in: "stable democracy, rule of law, human rights, freedom equality, free market economy, and the need to accept all EU legislation.
Ahmed Al-Jadidi, an analyst and academic researcher at the University of Nanterre in Paris, says that accession to the union is open to European countries willing to sign the three founding treaties that accept the application of European law as a whole.
With regard to the terms of accession, Al-Jadidi believes, in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, that they are not a subject for negotiation, as the candidate countries must accept all legislation and agreements that govern the European Union in its current form.
Can a country be included in a state of war according to a "special procedure" and bypassing normal conditions?
Despite the Ukrainian demands for accelerating accession to the union “according to a special procedure” and shortening the complex regular procedures, the treaties of the union and Article (49) specifically of the Lisbon Treaty relating to applications for accession do not have such a procedure, and to create this quick mechanism it is necessary to change the chapters of Article (49), This requires years of discussion.
Jamal Ben Creed, a researcher in the humanities and social sciences at the University of Descartes 5, believes that legally, there are no objective conditions for achieving this "special procedure", so it is "just a political emotional request that does not find reasons for its realization within the institutions of the European Union."
Ben Creed, speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, stresses that "Europe does not want Ukraine within the union, but Ukraine is just a means in the hands of the Union and the United States to exhaust and weaken Russia.
The academic says that Europe has no profit from Ukraine's entry into the union;
"The financial and military aid and massive propaganda to Ukraine remain just part of the dangerous political game that the EU countries are playing," in his opinion.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen supports Ukraine's accession to the EU (Reuters)
Which countries are in favor of accelerating Ukraine's accession?
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen strongly supports Ukraine's accession to the European Union, and said earlier in an interview with the "Euronews" channel, describing the Ukrainians, "They are from us, and we want them to be inside."
The heads of eight member states of the European Union, namely: the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, called in an open letter to the Union to start accession talks with Ukraine "immediately".
A diplomatic source also told AFP that 4 other countries support Ukraine, including Sweden, Hungary and Croatia.
Of the countries that reject the special treatment of Ukraine?
French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country presided over the European Union, confirmed last Monday that Ukraine's possible accession could take "decades", and thus maintained the same position he had stated at the European Union leaders summit last March in Versailles, where he said that "the European Council I declare in a strong and clear message Ukraine's fate in Europe: Can we take extraordinary measures for a country at war without respecting those criteria for accession? The answer is no."
As for Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, he said, "There is no fast track," which is the position of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who said at the same summit that "the European Union should deepen its partnership with Ukraine instead of talking about its accession to its membership."
So did Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Petit, who warned against giving "Kyiv" the impression that "everything can happen overnight".
The Italian Secretary of State for European Affairs, Vincenzo Amendola, stressed that "it is not acceptable to join (a country) when it is at war. If we have a Russian general in Kyiv within 15 days, what will we do?"
Dr. Jamal Ben Creed, researcher in humanities and social sciences and a lecturer at the University of "Descartes 5" (Al Jazeera)
Why is Ukraine's application to join the European Union really complicated?
Ben Creed explains that Ukraine's accession to the European Union is a very complex issue, as it does not have a clearly organized economic or political structure that facilitates accession, in addition to the fundamental differences in the political structure between Ukraine and the rest of the Union countries.
Therefore, Ben Creed believes that Ukraine's accession to the European Union "is an illusion that is difficult to realize and a mine that can explode at any moment."
"Realistically, the European Union as an economic and monetary market makes it difficult for Ukraine to join because its economy is fragile, incoherent and unbalanced, and it cannot achieve the required integration with the economies of other European countries," he asserts.
Previous meeting of the European Union to discuss the situation in Ukraine (Anatolia)
What are the security and strategic risks in accelerating accession procedures?
Ahmed Al-Jadidi believes that Ukraine's rapid annexation of the union "may constitute a violation of European law", and that its entry at the present time seems unrealistic, hasty and reactive;
Rather, the union may be drawn into a state of war with Russia, according to the Lisbon Treaty of 2007, where it touched on the “mutual aid clause,” ie similar to what was stated in the NATO Treaty on the Principle of Collective Defense, which states that “any attack on member states It is an attack on all members.
For his part, Ben Creed believes that it is currently difficult for Ukraine to enter the European Union because the balance of power is not in the interest of his countries, and if these countries speed up Ukraine's accession procedures, the war will expand to Moldova and perhaps to a larger area in Europe.
Could the "European Political Organization" be a temporary solution for Ukraine?
Ben Creed believes that French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal regarding the "European Political Organization" will not succeed and achieve the equation he is looking for.
Therefore, it will not be able to include new countries in the organization, and it cannot be an alternative solution for Ukraine.
However, unlike him, Al-Jadidi believes that the idea of a European political organization can be an alternative negotiating cover to the complex, normal accession terms that last for years.
What is Russia's position on Ukraine's request to join the Union?
Ben Creed says that Russia is convinced that Ukraine belongs to it, and therefore the idea of joining the European Union is as dangerous and a red line for Moscow as the idea of joining NATO, which Russia rejects.
Russia knows this danger, so it defends the principle of Ukraine's neutrality, and it is ready to go far, as its officials have stated on this point, and defend its strategic security by all available means, even if this requires the use of nuclear weapons.
According to the analyst, there is a historical, emotional, intellectual, structural and political integration between Russia and Ukraine, which made the former Soviet leader Lenin address his foreign minister at the time Trotsky in 1921 by saying, "If we lose Ukraine, we lose our head."