EU reaches unity on Ukraine, but won’t offer fast-track membership - AP

Leaders of the European Union, who gathered in France on Thursday, fully united in backing Ukraine’s resistance against Russian aggression and acknowledged Kyiv's European aspirations.

Ukraine reports this with reference to AP.

After many hours of talks, heads of states and government ended the first day of discussions with an agreement on language acknowledging Ukraine’s “European aspirations”.

“It was an opportunity to show unwavering, firm support for Ukraine, that is, to be committed financially, materially,” said EU Council President Charles Michel. “It is clear that Ukraine is a member of the European family and we want to support all efforts to strengthen and consolidate the ties with Ukraine.”

Earlier, Ukraine applied for a fast-track integration with the bloc, which has warm support in Eastern Europe. At the same time, EU officials emphasize that this process can take years, as the admission of a new member to the organization requires the unanimity of existing members.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU must send a “strong signal” of support for Ukraine, but ruled out the possibility for the country to join the bloc any time soon.

“It’s also important to show a clear open door for EU membership for Ukraine, that the path is open for them to take and that we as a family of democratic nations would want them,” Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said earlier. “That’s very, very important for the Ukrainians right now as a very important signal.”

Leaders also discussed possible ways to wean the bloc off its Russian energy dependency and bolster the region’s defense capabilities.

In addition, the focused on possible new sanctions against Russia and its ally Belarus — including cutting all their banks from the SWIFT dominant system for global financial transactions — were also on the table, according to an EU official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

As reported, EU leaders gathered at Versailles for a summit to discuss strengthening European defense and reducing dependence on Russian gas, oil and coal. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Russia's war against Ukraine the main topic of the summit.

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