Window of opportunity to invite Ukraine to EU ‘quite small’ – Lithuanian vice-minister
The window of opportunity for inviting Ukraine to the European Union is quite small, Lithuanian Deputy Foreign Minister Jovita Neliupšienė said on Friday.
“I think that the leaders of the member states who will gather for the European Council realise that the window of opportunity is quite small and quite short – either we make a geopolitical and political decision that will allow the EU to move forward in the future, or we just close ourselves off and wait for something,” she said.
At the European Council summit in Brussels in mid-December, EU leaders are expected to announce whether the bloc will start accession talks with Ukraine, which was granted candidate status in June.
The European Commission said in November that Kyiv had met over 90 percent of the conditions to start formal membership talks.
The EU’s executive body recommended opening accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.
“All this is not about technical decisions; these are matters of political will. And I think we need to make them now. The longer we delay, the more obstacles we will find,” Neliupšienė said.
“Talks are currently underway on the council’s conclusions as to how to treat the EC’s report on enlargement,” she added.
Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova applied for EU membership after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.