Mezzola urged that Ukraine’s accession to the EU should not be replaced by interim statuses

The European Union must respond to the pace of Ukraine’s reforms just as swiftly as Ukraine carries out the necessary work to join the EU.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola stated that discussions about different models of integration should not become a way of postponing Ukraine’s full membership.

According to her, the consensus is to take the next steps without delay.

“If someone had told us that a country at war because it had been attacked would be able to catch up so impressively on the volume of legislative and technical work that takes other countries ten years! So we cannot turn away without responding to this speed with equal speed,” said Metsola.

First clusters for Ukraine

Metsola stressed that the EU must not only recognise Ukraine’s progress but also take practical decisions.

She called for the opening of the first negotiation clusters for Ukraine.

According to the President of the European Parliament, this is necessary so that Ukrainians feel that the reforms being carried out by Kyiv have not been in vain.

Interim stages should not replace membership

Metsola noted that there are various possible intermediate stages of Ukraine’s integration into the EU.

These include, in particular, joining specific areas of cooperation – the single market, the customs union, the roaming zone, and the Erasmus or Horizon programmes.

At the same time, she cautioned that such models cannot replace a political decision on Ukraine’s future membership.

According to Metsola, the discussion on the format of integration must not become a way of keeping a candidate country outside the EU for as long as possible.

“We simply need to do what we have to do, look at what opportunities exist, and not use various models as an excuse to ‘park’ countries indefinitely, as this is yet another risk we face. But this must not come at the expense of the fundamental decision that has been taken – that Ukraine will join the EU. I won’t mention any dates; that is not within the European Parliament’s remit, but I wanted to emphasise this point clearly,” she said.

What preceded this

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz proposed a new model for Ukraine’s integration into the European Union in a letter to EU leaders.

Earlier, Lana Zerkal, Ukraine’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and a member of the Ukraine Facility Platform Coordination Committee, stated that Merz’s proposal for a special status as an EU associate member without voting rights could offer Ukraine a range of opportunities.

According to her, this option should not be viewed solely as a negative scenario.

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