Poland, Italy support fast-track to EU integration for Ukraine

That's during a joint media briefing on Monday in Warsaw, President of Poland Andrzej Duda and President of Italy Sergio Mattarella said, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to the Polish President, Ukrainians are now fighting for "the right to decide their own destiny and move in the direction they want."

"Ukrainians want to be with us, they want to be on the side of the West and belong to our Community, and we must pave the way for them to this Community as much as possible. We must accept them into this Community as soon as possible," Duda said. 

The Polish leader expressed hope that this year's report of the European Commission on the process of integration and implementation of reforms in Ukraine will bring Ukraine's membership in the EU closer. 

"We will receive the EU report in May, and I hope this will be another step that will bring Ukraine closer to full EU membership," Duda stated.

He also called it essential that Moldova and the Western Balkan countries be accepted without delay to the EU.

Duda said they, with the Italian president, also discussed the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius.

"We talked about how NATO should continue to support Ukraine," he emphasized. 

In his turn, the Italian President reminded that Ukraine and Moldova were granted the status of candidate countries for EU membership last year. 

"We are now looking forward to the concrete implementation of the European integration of Ukraine and Moldova. This also applies to the countries of the Western Balkans," emphasized Mattarella

He called this a crucial issue, as these countries are waiting for EU membership, and it is essential for this to happen as it concerns of common European values.

As reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed an application for Ukraine's membership in the European Union on February 28, 2022. Later, on June 23 last year, the EU heads of state and government decided to grant Ukraine the status of EU candidate country. 

On Wednesday, April 12, the first joint inter-committee meeting of Ukrainian parliamentarians with MEPs took place. As a result, the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, said that the European Parliament is ready to start negotiations on Ukraine's full membership in the European Union by the end of this year.

Photo: agenzianova