The Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) has before it the task of ensuring the continuity of military support for Ukraine and managing the expectations of kyiv, which wants a calendar for its accession.
Spain will preside over the Council of the EU as of July 1 and inherited from the previous presidency the continuity of support for Ukraine, which since February 24, 2022 has been trying to repel an invasion by Russia.
At the beginning of the year, the 27 agreed to send another million artillery shells to Ukraine over the course of 12 months.
At the end of May, Brussels announced that it had reached about 25% of the total ammunition that would be sent to Ukraine.
At the same time, Member States have to produce and purchase more ammunition to replenish ‘stocks’, depleted by successive shipments made available to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
It is in the hands of the Spanish presidency to guarantee the conclusion of these processes, as well as advance in the development of the Defense industry, an issue whose relevance has been renewed and gained momentum as a result of the war in Ukrainian territory and ‘at the door of The EU”.
Another challenge will be to prevent Ukraine’s expectations of EU membership from being dashed. The country applied in February 2022 and was granted candidate status in June, simultaneously with Moldova.
The process, from the presentation of the candidacy to the reception of the validation of the 27, has been the fastest to date, but for the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, the EU has to go further and present a timetable.
In early May, the Ukrainian president said it was “time” for a “positive decision on opening accession negotiations.”
“The time has long come to remove this artificial political uncertainty in relations between Ukraine and the EU,” the Ukrainian president declared at the time, together with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during a visit to Kiev.
Zelensky insisted at the end of May that, even in war, Ukraine rules its government by the “European system of democracy”: “Our unity, our common values, our common rules of life are good examples. I am sure that all [estes elementos] will soon give us an obvious result, which is full membership.”
But Brussels has cooled Ukrainian claims, postponing a decision until later, without presenting a time frame.
For “full ownership” to take place, Ukraine has to meet numerous requirements, from clear improvements in the fight against corruption to strengthening the rule of law, among others.
Last week von der Leyen acknowledged that there is apparent progress, which should be subject to evaluation before the end of the year, but ruled out a short-term membership, referring it to several years from now.
For now, the Commission president prefers to “send a strong political message” that the EU will be on Ukraine’s side for the “long term”.
Source: TSF
