The European Parliament asked this Thursday that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) “prepare the way” for the integration of Ukraine, once the war is over, and urged negotiations at the end of this year for its accession to the European Union (EU).
In a resolution approved this Thursday in the plenary session of the European Assembly, with 425 votes in favour, 38 against and 42 abstentions, MEPs say they hope that the “accession process begins after the end of the war and concludes as soon as possible “. , urging NATO allies to “honor their commitment to Ukraine and take steps so that the country is invited to join the Atlantic Alliance,” the institution said in a statement.
The MEPs indicate “to wait for a positive recommendation from the European Commission, since Ukraine has successfully completed the seven steps established in the opinion” from Brussels, asking for a “clear path for the initiation of accession refusals that, with sufficient support , they could start this year.”
Already addressing the recent destruction of the Kakhovka dam, the European Parliament speaks of a “war crime” committed by Russia, which “generated an environmental catastrophe, as well as ecocide in Ukraine.”
The position comes after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this Wednesday that he expected a “good solution” for the future integration of Ukraine into the Atlantic Alliance.
An eventual integration of Ukraine into NATO can only be achieved at the end of the war in Ukraine, since the Atlantic Alliance is governed by article 5, which provides for the reaction of the Allies to an armed attack against one of the members.
Even so, this support for Ukraine’s integration into the Atlantic Alliance was expressed at the Bucharest summit in April 2008, when NATO hailed Kiev’s “Euro-Atlantic aspirations”.
“Today we agree that these countries will become members of NATO. Both nations have made valuable contributions to the operations of the alliance” and, therefore, “we will now begin a period of intense engagement with both countries at a high political level, in order to address outstanding issues related to their candidacies,” the 2008 summit statement states.
The Ukrainian president has been pressing for progress in this 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 path to integration,” Volodymyr Zelensky declared.
A day after these remarks, Zelensky would acknowledge, in a rare admission, that Ukraine’s NATO membership will be “impossible” before the end of the ongoing 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 the European and transatlantic level.
Source: TSF
