EU States condemned the sufferings of Ukrainians due to Russian invasion, but they said that joining the E.U. is a process that usually takes years
Leaders of the European Union (E.U.) have said they cannot fast track Ukraine’s membership into the bloc as it requires compliance to stringent rules.
While they condemned the sufferings that Ukrainians have been subject to due to Russian invasion, they said that joining the E.U. is a process that usually takes years and requires meeting strict criteria from economic stability to rooting out corruption to respecting liberal human rights.
Speaking on extending membership to Ukraine, the Prime Minister of Croatia – Andrej Plenkovic said, “Nobody entered the European Union overnight.”
The Prime Minister of Netherlands – Mark Rutte said, “There is no fast-track process. I want to focus on what can we do for Volodymyr Zelensky tonight, tomorrow, and EU accession of Ukraine is something for the long-term – if at all.”
The President of France – Emmanuel Macron said, “Can we open a membership procedure with a country at war? I don’t think so. Can we shut the door and say: ‘never’? It would be unfair. Can we forget about the balance points in that region? Let’s be cautious.”
However, there are Member States who want a firm signal towards E.U. membership, led by Poland which has seen 1.5 million Ukrainians refugees pour over its border. As of date, more than 2 million people have fled the country, thousands of civilians have been killed.
Meanwhile, Mariupol continues to suffer from Russian invasion with a bomb dropping in every 30 minutes. Around 400,000 people are still in the city. There have been 1,300 deaths in Mariupol.
The Mayor of Mariupol said, “Every 30 minutes, planes arrived over the city of Mariupol and worked on residential areas, killing civilians – the elderly, women, children. Is this the greatness of the Russian army today?”
The Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine – Igor Zhovkva has said that the President of Ukraine – Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to speak to the President of Russia – Vladimir Putin anytime. He also said that while Zelensky is ready for negotiations, he will not compromise on sovereignty of the country. Ukraine was open to neutrality if the North Atlantic Treaty organisation (NATO) is not ready to accept Ukraine at this time.
Russia has announced to freeze the asset of consumer giants who have stopped business operations in Russia owing to the military operations carried out by Russia in Ukraine. Most of these companies are United States (U.S.) based. The White House has warned that if Russia freezes their asset, it will impose even stricter sanctions on Russia.
Taking it to twitter, the Press Secretary of White House – Jen Psaki tweeted,
We have seen reports that Russia may be considering seizing the assets of U.S. and international companies that have announced plans to suspend operations in Russia or to withdraw from the Russian market.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 11, 2022
She further tweeted,
These decisions are ultimately up to companies. As President Biden said earlier this week, we welcome the decisions of companies to exit Russia because they want no part of Russia’s war of choice against Ukraine.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 11, 2022
She also said that Russia may invite legal claims after freezing the assets of consumer companies who have halted operations in Russia.
