Assita Kanko: “Ukrainian EU membership only when all conditions have been met”

Tomorrow, the European Parliament will vote on granting Ukraine candidate status. MEP Assita Kanko is working on that dossier in the Foreign Affairs Committee. “The N-VA supports Ukraine, and we are addressing the question of becoming a candidate member of the EU. But the granting of that status must not be equated with EU membership. The latter can only be obtained after a long accession process, of which the granting of candidate status is only the starting point. Ukraine must earn that by implementing major reforms.”

The N-VA regards granting Ukraine candidate status as a sign of appreciation for the will of the Ukrainian people to share and defend our democratic values and respect for human rights. “Thanks to the required reforms, this can only help Ukraine move forward and strengthen Europe’s fundamental values,” Assita Kanko says. “Ukrainians have made it clear in recent months that they do not want to be annexed by the Putin regime.

Yes, but not through the back door

Ukrainians are very brave and proud. But it is also well known that heavy corruption, a weak rule of law and powerful oligarchs are also characteristics of the country. Kanko: “Michel and von der Leyen must make it clear that this is a starting point for a negotiation process of many years to bring Ukrainian legislation and governance in line with those of the EU, with a number of painful areas that must be overcome, such as the corruption that will also have to be tackled in the reconstruction of the country. That is why we, as a party, insist on following the usual accession procedure, fulfilling all the criteria and the necessary achievements in terms of alignment with European standards and values. There is thus still a long negotiation process to become an EU member state.”

Continued cooperation

In the meantime, cooperation with Ukraine can take place on a broader platform of European countries, and there can be an interaction between the further implementation of the association agreement and the progress of the accession negotiations. “That broader European cooperation platform can also be an alternative for countries that do not want to or cannot join the EU or that have yet to complete the accession process. These include countries such as Turkey, which in our opinion cannot become a member, or the UK, which does not want to be a member, or other countries, such as the Western Balkan countries, which are still in the accession process.”