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Katarina Barley, Vice-President of the European Parliament (archive)
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Rolf Poss / IMAGO
The Vice-President of the European Parliament, Katarina Barley (SPD), has warned against Ukraine's hasty admission to the European Union.
»There must be no hasty accession«, Barley told the »Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung«.
»Once you are in the EU, you cannot be excluded.«
You can currently see that in Hungary, which is systematically undermining the rule of law.
"It is all the more important that the criteria laid down for accession, such as institutional stability, a functioning market economy and the rule of law, are fully met," explained the SPD politician.
On Friday, the EU Commission recommended officially granting Ukraine the status of an EU accession candidate.
Next week the 27 member states of the EU have to decide on a possible candidate statute, which requires a unanimous decision.
»Everyone basically agrees on the goal«
"I'm pretty sure that all EU member states are willing to smooth the way for Ukraine to join the EU," Barley said.
There may be "differing opinions about the time horizon," but "everyone is basically in agreement on the goal."
Barley himself would, in his own words, expressly welcome the granting of candidate status to Ukraine.
This is the right way to accommodate the country in view of the Russian war of aggression.
"Candidate status would be an important signal to Moscow that the EU will not be intimidated when it comes to defending our values."
However, the associated requirements should not be interpreted too loosely, according to the SPD politician.
This is also important with a view to other accession candidates, some of whom have been waiting for years for their procedures to move forward.
"We owe them equal treatment."
fok/AFP/dpa
