Roberta Metsola urged the 27 EU member states on Thursday to adapt to the rapid pace of reforms being implemented by Ukraine on its path toward European Union accession. She also called for accelerating the process of opening the door to both Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, according to EFE, as reported by Agerpres.ro.
She stated at the GLOBSEC Forum in Prague that the EU should not ignore the fact that a country at war, which was invaded, is managing to complete in a short time a volume of legislative and technical work that normally takes other countries a decade. She said the EU must adapt to this pace instead of “looking the other way.”
Although she did not specify a timeline for accession, Metsola acknowledged that Ukraine’s efforts and its role in “fighting for our security” make further delays unjustifiable.
She made the remarks after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz proposed, in a letter to EU leadership, creating an “associate membership” status for Ukraine.
The President of the European Parliament warned that failing to open the door to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova could allow other countries to exploit the situation and derail the integration process.
She argued that “if we do not do this, it is in the interest of other countries to do the opposite, and we cannot allow this in wartime.”
She stressed that security and defense are now the EU’s top priorities and said that without them “we have nothing.” She also stated that EU enlargement is “the best security guarantee” the Union can offer candidate countries.
The Republic of Moldova, which began EU accession procedures shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is ready to open negotiations on all chapters, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said at the same forum.
Sandu also denounced Moscow’s interference in Moldova’s electoral processes through illegal financing of political parties and corrupt oligarchs. She said European integration is strategically essential for Moldova’s survival as a democracy.