Politico: France, Germany, Netherlands and Italy against accelerated Ukraineʼs accession to the EU

The European Union is not ready to accelerate Ukraineʼs accession — France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy are against this.

Politico writes about this, citing sources.

Among the reasons is the fear that EU enlargement could strengthen the position of populists and lead to difficult national referendums.

In France, in particular, the issue of Ukraineʼs accession could strengthen the positions of right-wingers such as Jordan Bardella. In his campaigns, he could speculate on the issue of Ukraineʼs accession, arguing that it would pose risks to jobs and costs to the budget.

The EU also remembers the experience of the 2004 enlargement. Then, before Polandʼs accession, Western countries actively discussed the risk of "cheap labor" that could displace local workers.

A separate reason is the experience with Hungary. After accession, the country was repeatedly criticized for problems with democracy, ties with Russia, and blocking EU decisions, in particular regarding support for Ukraine.

Furthermore, the major powers insist that the accession process must remain “merit-based” and cannot be accelerated for geopolitical reasons.

Despite this, some countries, in particular Sweden and Denmark, support faster progress and advocate for the completion of negotiations in the coming years.

• Hungaryʼs newly elected Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on April 13 that he does not support Ukraineʼs accelerated accession to the bloc because the country is still at war. He claims that EU leaders with whom he has been negotiating share his view: Ukraine cannot be accepted now.
• According to Magyar, Ukraine must go through the entire negotiation process for EU accession. If this happens, a referendum on Ukraineʼs membership will be held in Hungary. But the politician believes that this will not happen within the next 10 years.

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