Germany's Olaf Scholz says EU needs to 'modernise' procedure to add new members

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stressed that the European Union (EU) should make it easier for new members to join the bloc. Speaking to DPA news agency, Scholz said that he has devised plans for pursuing the European Union to "modernise" its decision-making processes. He highlighted that the EU should also work for expanding the bloc. 

Scholz asserted that it will not be possible to decide everything by unanimous vote in the future. Notably, granting candidate status to a country in the EU requires unanimous agreement of all the 27 member countries of the bloc. The German Chancellor plans to present his proposals at the EU Summit that is scheduled to begin on June 24. The heads of the 27 member countries will consider the EU membership applications from Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine at the meeting.

EU Commission recommends granting candidate status to Ukraine

The EU Summit comes a week after the European Commission recommended that Moldova and Ukraine should be granted official candidate status. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been calling on the EU to include Ukraine in the bloc. Earlier on June 16, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz along with French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi visited Kyiv for the first time since the onset of the war on February 24. Scholz said that they came to Kyiv with a message that "Ukraine belongs to the European family."

Scholz says it's 'absolutely necessary' to hold talks with Putin 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called it "absolutely necessary" for some leaders to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Scholz said that he will continue to hold talks with Putin, the DPA news agency reported. Notably, Scholz has held several telephone conversations with Putin since Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine on February 24.

Scholz called on the Kremlin leader to withdraw Russian armed forces from Ukraine. He further urged Russia to reach an agreement with Ukraine that is "acceptable and right" for Kyiv. Speaking about the delivery of weapons, Scholz said that the weapons will be supplied to Ukraine "on time."

The German Chancellor highlighted that Ukrainian soldiers would need time to take training to use the weapons, including self-propelled howitzers and anti-aircraft tanks. He emphasised that Europe continues to work in unity to support Ukraine against the Russian military offensive and it will continue to back the war-torn nation in future.

(Image: AP)