LONDON, February 1. /TASS/. The European Union leadership should not give Ukraine false hopes of becoming a member in the coming years, diplomats from EU member countries have warned Brussels, according to Financial Times.
The newspaper wrote, citing high-ranking European diplomats, that remarks by European Council President Charles Michel and his colleagues about the need to finalize Ukraine’s accession as soon as possible have led to unrealistic expectations in Kiev.
"That gap [between promises and reality] has been growing for some time. And we are getting to the point where it’s too wide," the Financial Times quoted one European diplomat as saying.
Another said that "there is a risk that rhetoric clashes with reality." "There is not going to be a fast-track path for Ukraine’s EU membership," he added.
Earlier, a source in a European delegation to the summit told TASS that European Union leaders would not make a pledge to speed up the process of Ukraine’s accession to the EU during the Ukraine-EU summit on February 3. EU countries will agree that Ukraine has made a long journey, achieving serious progress in reforms, but there will be no pledge of expedite membership, the source said, adding that Ukraine’s fast-track membership is supported mostly by eastern European nations.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said last week that the government expects to become an EU member in less than two years after talks on its accession began. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky believes that negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU should begin as early as this year.
On June 23, 2022, EU heads of states and governments made a decision to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova. The timeframe for the beginning of accession talks have not been set yet. Brussels has pointed out that a lot of work remains to be done by the Kiev government, who must carry out important reforms. The EU also said that Ukraine can join the European community only after the conflict on its territory is over.