Ukraine to be EU’s asset, not burden - Kuleba

This was stated by the Minister for Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba in an interview with Euractiv, Ukrinform reports.

"If we were a burden, no one would be seriously talking about the membership of Ukraine in the EU – don’t forget that we are a nation of 44 million, we are a very big market. And economically, the source of prosperity for the EU as it stands is the common market. With the accession of Ukraine, the common market will expand exponentially and it will bring benefits," said Kuleba.

He added that Ukrainians had been frustrated for years by "the inability of the EU to promise the prospect of membership", and so were the Western Balkans, so it would be "an irresponsible act for the EU to miss this historic opportunity to make a step towards enlargement, not only with Ukraine, but with all other countries involved".

According to the publication, diplomats from EU member states strongly supporting Kyiv expect a tough fight over the proposed revision of the EU budget, which includes EUR 50 billion in additional aid to Kyiv, especially after Hungary and Slovakia sent signals of reservations.

Kuleba said that one can “always expect an obstacle but we are pretty skilled in overcoming any kind of obstacles” and stressed he would be “encouraged to see that current leaders understand that and they want to grasp this opportunity”.

"It is in the best interest of both Hungary and Slovakia to have Ukraine as a member," the head of the Foreign Ministry is convinced.

EU member states have argued the bloc must reform itself first, before thinking about taking in more members, raising fears that this could be used to delay any progress in bringing Ukraine and others closer.

“Now that Ukraine made the EU come out of its enlargement coma, it is in the best interest of the EU to avoid another type of frustration, which is protracted reform. Reform is not a reason to delay enlargement,” Kuleba said.

An internal note, seen by Euractiv earlier this year, highlighted that enlargement could have a tangible impact on the two biggest areas of the EU budget – the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and cohesion policy.

Kuleba dismissed those concerns but admitted it was quite likely that talks on agriculture – an area where Ukraine is a European powerhouse – would be difficult.

“But if both, Ukraine and the EU, are guided by the vision of common prosperity and security, then we will find answers to the questions and we will strike the right balance.”

Earlier this year, he said, the EU promised to provide Ukraine with 1 million pieces of artillery rounds within 12 months, but Brussels is falling behind on its commitments, raising the risk that Russian forces will have an edge due to massive shipments of ammunition from North Korea.

“We should ask ourselves the question – and I’m speaking here not as Ukrainian foreign minister but as European – how are we going to win in the world when those who stand against us are simply more efficient in military matters?” Kuleba said. “I do not judge or question the EU’s commitment and political will to help, we’re deeply grateful for this will,” he said. “But something is wrong in the way the European defence industry functions.”

In his opinion, the only way to ramp up production is “to create a market that will function seamlessly and Ukraine and other candidate countries should be already considered as an integral part of the market.”

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the European Commission recommended that the European Council launch negotiations on enlargement with Ukraine and Moldova. The EC also recommended opening negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, under certain conditions, and granting the status of a candidate country to Georgia.

Photo: Euractiv/Zoran Popovici