The 12 EU ministers from Czechia, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, Portugal, Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, Germany, Slovenia, Romania, and Slovakia, signed a letter for the speedy accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU by the end of June, after the General Affairs Council. The letter was organized by the current Belgian EU Presidency. Most of the 27 EU countries will probably support the motion, reported Euractiv, which claimed to have seen the letter yesterday.
The move can be seen as an attempt to put pressure on Hungary, which will take over the EU Presidency in July, and which has continued to block Ukraine. Hungary’s position is that holding out the prospect for Ukraine to join the EU is an empty gesture, as it will in take a long time to achieve membership. Rather, Budapest considers it would be more constructive for the EU to have a strategic partnership with Ukraine. Hungary would support Moldova’s EU membership, but only on condition of minority rights, trade, anti-corruption, agriculture, internal markets, and good neighborly relations.
Both Hungary and Slovakia, the only EU/NATO members that share borders with Ukraine, would oppose its membership in NATO.
