A “full consensus” emerged to grant Ukraine candidate status for the European Union (EU) during talks on Tuesday between the 27 EU affairs ministers meeting in Luxembourg, said French minister Clément Beaune, two days before a decisive summit.
The European Commission issued a positive opinion on Friday on granting Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidate for the European Union, which would open the way to membership after a long process.
The discussion on Tuesday between the ministers in Luxembourg “made it possible to show a broad consensus, I would even say a total consensus […] in particular with regard to Ukraine, the possibility of recognizing the status of candidate as soon as possible”, declared Mr. Beaune, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.
“It is a debate which will now belong to the Heads of State and Government” meeting at the summit on Thursday and Friday in Brussels, he added.
“We have worked so that European unity can once again manifest itself, that we experience an important, positive, perhaps even historic moment on this weekend on this subject”, continued Clément Beaune.
“An accession process does not mean immediate accession”, nevertheless reminded the Minister Delegate for Europe.
“Precisely because this process is demanding and long, we will have to consider not as alternatives but as complements, additional actions, it is in this spirit that the President of the Republic has evoked in recent weeks a European political community “, he recalled.
“We need to keep the perspective, the European flame alive even if an accession process is initiated,” he said.