"Step towards destabilization": why Brussels refrains from specifying the timing of Ukraine's possible entry into the EU

According to the results of the EU summit in Brussels, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky failed to achieve specifics regarding the prospects for the country's membership in the EU.

During a joint press conference with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, he directly addressed Michel demanding that EU accession negotiations begin in 2023.

“In this case, we need unity, and we need (for this to happen. -

) this year,” Zelensky said, adding that EU membership motivates the population of the country and the Armed Forces of Ukraine “to resist and fight.”

The politician specifically clarified that by "this year" he means 2023, causing laughter in the hall.

However, Ursula von der Leyen corrected the Ukrainian president, emphasizing that there are no strict time frames on this issue, but there are goals, including reforms and improving the situation in the country, that Kiev must achieve in order to subsequently come to accession negotiations.

“The Commission is cooperating very closely with the authorities of Ukraine... There are no strictly defined deadlines, this process is developing based on achievements,” said the head of the EC.

On the eve of the summit, Zelensky delivered a speech to the European Parliament, saying that "Ukraine that wins" will be a member of the EU.

European meeting

Recall that the head of the Kyiv regime attended the EU summit on February 9.

In addition to speaking to the European Parliament and the press conference mentioned above, he also took part in a solemn ceremony of meeting with the leaders of 27 countries of the Union, who gave him a standing ovation.

At the same time, on the video broadcast, one could see how Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer refrained from applauding Zelensky.

• Zelensky at the summit in Brussels

• AP

• © Olivier Matthys

During a joint press conference, Ursula von der Leyen again announced the tenth package of anti-Russian sanctions.

According to her, the new restrictions include restrictions on the export of goods worth more than €10 billion, as well as measures against "propagandists".

However, she did not specify who to consider as such.

The head of the EC added that this package of restrictions is aimed at weakening the military sphere and the foundations of the economy of the Russian Federation.

Earlier, von der Leyen, while visiting Kyiv at the EU-Ukraine summit, said that the next restrictions against Moscow imply the introduction of restrictions in the field of technologies used in the Russian military-industrial complex.

A new portion of EU sanctions is going to coincide with February 24 - the anniversary of the start of a special operation in Ukraine.

At the same time, Zelensky then complained to the head of the European Commission that Moscow was quickly adapting to new restrictions, despite the fact that "the pace of sanctions in Europe has slowed down a bit."

At the EU summit, the issue of transferring combat aircraft to Kyiv was also not unequivocally resolved.

At the same time, the head of the European Parliament, Robert Metsola, at a special session convened for the visit of the President of Ukraine, called for military aircraft and long-range systems to be provided to Kyiv.

In turn, Charles Michel said that the EU should step up efforts to support Ukraine through both political and military measures.

However, Ursula von der Leyen noted that decisions on the supply of weapons are made not at the level of the European Union, but by individual states of the community.

The discussion about the potential transfer of Western combat aircraft to the Kiev regime resumed shortly after Washington decided to supply American Abrams tanks to Kiev, and Berlin announced its decision to send its Leopards to the republic and approve their re-export by other countries.

US President Joe Biden and German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz said earlier that their countries would not supply combat aircraft to Kyiv, in particular F-16 fighters.

However, Zelensky still managed to make some progress in this direction.

On the sidelines of the EU summit, he officially asked the Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger to supply MiG-29 fighter jets to Kyiv.

In response, he said that Slovakia would do its best to fulfill this request. 

Road to membership

Experts and political scientists interviewed by RT note that, despite the public expression of support, the EU leadership is unlikely to be eager to formally admit Ukraine into its ranks, as this threatens political contradictions within the union, as well as disagreements with countries that have been waiting for decades for membership in the association.

“The admission of Ukraine to the EU will be a step towards destabilizing the union, and Brussels really does not want to bring this event closer.

They will get an absolutely disloyal, but very demanding member who will constantly flaunt his feat of “saving” Europe from Russia, ”said Boris Mezhuev, associate professor at Moscow State University.

• European Parliament

• globallookpress.com

• © Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa

He believes that there are already serious discrepancies in the EU between the members of the "new" and "old" Europe, and the admission of Ukraine to it can aggravate the situation even more.

“If Ukraine were accepted into the European Union, this would be a significant step towards its collapse.

It's a ticking time bomb.

Brussels already has one such cargo in the form of Poland, but this one will be even worse.

Kyiv will constantly demand for itself a special position, rights, while at the same time it will reject European standards and values ​​​​at the first disagreement and constantly rattle “containment of the Russian threat,” Mezhuev emphasized.

He also drew attention to the episode when the deputies of the European Parliament unanimously chanted the Ukrainian nationalist slogan during Zelensky's speech.

“Now it has become part of the European ideology.

Some people are sincere, some are not.

But such speeches are based on deep European Russophobia.

Thus, the idea is instilled that Ukraine is allegedly a bastion holding back Russia from “encroachments on Europe”, which was also done earlier by Ukrainian nationalists from the OUN*.

This is an element of moral ransom,” the expert explained.

In turn, Leonid Krutakov, Associate Professor of the Department of Political Science at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, in an interview with RT expressed the opinion that all Zelensky's attempts to force the issue of Ukraine's admission to the EU are primarily caused by his personal political ambitions.

“Zelensky is a buffoon by profession and by way of thinking.

Of course, he will put forward such demands, emphasize his importance for the West.

In addition, by doing this, he strengthens the domestic political consensus, demonstrating that he has allegedly almost reached membership in the European Union, ”the analyst argues.

He also recalled that there are still states that are not as problematic as Ukraine, but at the same time have not received EU membership.

“Turkey, which applied for membership in the late 1980s, has been in candidate status since 1999.

However, in the EU it is still not accepted as a full member under various pretexts.

In this context, it is difficult to imagine a situation in which Ukraine would be given full membership,” Krutakov concluded.

* Organization of Ukrainian nationalists - "Ukrainian Insurgent