Key EU state opposes fast-tracking Ukrainian membership

Outgoing Dutch PM Mark Rutte insists Kiev still has to meet “thousands of conditions” before joining the bloc

Setting a specific date for EU expansion is unwise, warned Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as he openly opposed Brussels’ plans to admit countries such as Ukraine to the bloc by the end of the decade.

“It’s not a question of when countries are ready; it’s a question of whether countries are ready,” Rutte was quoted as saying by the NOS news outlet on Thursday on the sidelines of the European Political Community (EPC) summit.

Rutte’s comments come after European Council President Charles Michel stated that he wanted Kiev to become part of the EU by 2030 as the bloc tries to prevent Russia and China from expanding their influence in Europe.

But the outgoing Dutch PM has insisted that the accession of countries into the union should be done according to the rule of law, which means that Kiev “must meet thousands of conditions to join,” and no concessions could be made on these requirements.

Additionally, Rutte stressed that even if all the countries that want to join the EU, such as Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and the Balkan states, managed to meet all the requirements, the EU itself is not yet ready to accept new members.

“The EU has 27 member states, and if more countries are added, decision-making and all kinds of other matters will become even more complicated,” Rutte said.

Previously, doubts about Kiev’s EU membership were also raised by the former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who said in an interview with Germany’s Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper on Thursday that Brussels “should not make any false promises to the people in Ukraine.”

Juncker stressed that Ukraine is “a country that is corrupt at all levels of society” and cannot be allowed into the bloc unless it first conducts “massive” reforms.

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Meanwhile, even Ukrainian officials have pointed out that Kiev needs to deal decisively with corruption in the country as it has also hindered Ukraine from receiving financial aid from abroad to help in its ongoing conflict with Russia.

After the US Congress failed to include any funds for Kiev in its latest government spending bill, Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak stated that “the biggest (public) complaint about [Ukraine] is corruption.”

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that with the holdup in US aid for Ukraine, concerns are growing in Kiev about the possibility of the country facing a financial shortfall, jeopardizing the payment of its civil servants. A Ukrainian official suggested that Ukraine might manage its finances through October and possibly November and December, but sustaining operations beyond that point could become increasingly challenging.