Is There Room for Ukraine in the EU?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that he and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte have clear disagreements regarding Ukraine's accession to the EU. He discussed this during an interview with Nieuwsuur.

During the conversation, the journalist noted that a few weeks ago, Mark Rutte delivered a speech in the Ukrainian parliament and referred to Ukraine as part of the European family, but did not mention anything about Ukraine's EU membership.

Zelensky responded that he spoke with the Prime Minister on Thursday. “I was honest with Mark, I told him something like this: ‘Thank you for your speech. You are really helping us, and I am very grateful for that. But regarding the EU, you remained silent about everything we just wanted to hear. If you think there is no room for us in the EU, you should make that clear,’” Zelensky said.

According to him, Rutte replied that in his opinion, there is room for Ukraine in the EU, “but some specific steps need to be taken.” The president stated that Ukraine is ready for EU candidate status and understands the need to implement necessary reforms.