The European Parliament on Thursday called for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to “pave the way” for Ukraine’s integration once the war is over, and pushed for negotiations to join the European Union (EU) later this year.
In a resolution adopted at the plenary session of the European Assembly this Thursday, with 425 votes in favour, 38 against and 42 abstentionssay MEPs hope that the “accession process will begin after the end of the war and be completed as soon as possible”, and call on NATO allies to “fulfill their commitment to Ukraine and take steps to invite the country to to join the Atlantic Alliance,” the institution said in a statement.
On the EU, MEPs “hope for a positive recommendation from the European Commission as Ukraine has successfully completed the seven steps set out in the opinion” of Brussels calling for a “clear path for the start of refusals of membership, which, with sufficient support, could start this year”.
In the context of the recent destruction of the Kakhovka dam, the European Parliament speaks of a “war crime” committed by Russia, which “caused an environmental disaster as well as an ecocide in Ukraine”.
The position comes after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he hoped the July 11-12 summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, a “good solution” for Ukraine’s future integration into the Atlantic Alliance, will take place on Wednesday, July 14.
Final integration of Ukraine into NATO can only be achieved at the end of the war in Ukraine, as the Atlantic Alliance is governed by Article 5, which provides for an Allies response to an armed attack against one of its members.
Yet this support for Ukraine’s integration into the Atlantic Alliance was expressed at the Bucharest Summit in April 2008, when NATO welcomed “the Euro-Atlantic aspirations” of Kiev.
“We agreed today that these countries will join NATO. Both nations have made valuable contributions to the Alliance’s operations” and therefore “we are now entering a period of intense engagement with both countries at a high political level to resolve the unresolved address issues related to their candidacy,” said the 2008 summit communiqué.
The Ukrainian president has been pushing for accession and two weeks ago, on the occasion of the second summit of the European Political Community in Moldova, he indicated that he expected a “clear invitation” at the July summit.
“In the summer, in Vilnius, at the NATO summit, a clear invitation to Ukraine’s membership is needed and security guarantees are needed on the road to integration,” said Volodymyr Zelensky.
A day after the statements, Zelensky acknowledged that it was “impossible” for Ukraine to join NATO before the end of the war with Russia.
Also in Moldova, the Ukrainian president said that “a clear and positive decision is needed to join the EU” in the autumn, speaking of a “year of decisions” at European and transatlantic level.
Source: DN
