Ukraine rules out scaled-down EU membership, Office of President says

This was stated in an interview with RBC-Ukraine by Deputy Head of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva, Ukrinform reports.

"I want to emphasize: We do not need ersatz membership. When we hear about light membership [simplified membership], the answer is definitely no. They once tried to offer us ersatz candidate status. I remember that the president said at the time: Better nothing than ersatz. The same applies here: there will be no light or half-light membership," said Zhovkva.

He stressed that Ukraine's model of EU accession will be unique, but it will certainly not be incomplete.

“Ukraine will be a full member of the European Union because it deserves it,” emphasized the deputy head of the Office of the President.

Meanwhile, he noted that after the political decision on membership, there are still relevant formulas.

"The countries that joined the European Union in the last waves all had some kind of transition period, particularly in certain sectors of the European single market. Of course, there will be transition periods in certain sectors. I recently spoke with the head of the European External Action Service, who is Spanish by origin, and she said, ‘I remember how long the transition period was for Spain in the fisheries sector. We went into it consciously, but we were already members of the EU,'" Zhovkva noted.

He added that this should not concern foreign policy and security issues.

“Ukraine must have a say in this matter, and we are clear about that,” said the deputy head of the Office of the President.

As reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky previously stated that, after the war, Russia will try to prevent Ukraine's accession to the EU, which is why the peace agreement must include a specific date for EU accession.

Photo: Flickr