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Updated June 20th, 2022 at 18:41 IST

Ukraine does not meet the conditions for EU membership, claims top Russian legislator

Ukraine does not meet the conditions for membership in the European Union, Russia's State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin claimed in a Telegram post on June 20.

Reported by: Aparna Shandilya
Ukraine
Image: AP | Image:self
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Ukraine does not meet the conditions for membership in the European Union, Russia's State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin claimed in a Telegram post on June 20. In his post, Volodin justified his statement by citing absolute corruption, rampant crime, and the rule of oligarchs in Ukraine, as well as the country's ruined economy.

"Ukraine meets no criteria for either joining the European community, or being granted (EU) candidacy. Europe realises that only too well, too, but the desire to weaken Russia is stronger," Volodin wrote in his post.

According to the senior Russian legislator, the West is failing to combat Russia until the last Ukrainian stands, which is why Washington and Brussels are prepared to do all possible to keep the military operation running. According to Volodin, the decision to award Ukraine EU candidacy was also influenced by this.

"A sad fate awaits Ukraine: as the decision making will be officially done in Brussels, the country would lose all its sovereignty," Volodin further claimed in his post.

Ukraine's EU application

Four days after Russia's "special military operation" began, Ukraine signed an official request to join the 27-member European Union. On June 17, the European Commission recommended that Ukraine be granted candidate status in the European Union. All 27 EU member states must now agree to award Ukraine candidate status, which will be debated at the EU leaders' summit on June 23-24.

Even if candidacy is approved, the process of achieving full membership status might take years, if not decades. Georgia and Moldova also submitted membership applications a week after Russian soldiers invaded Ukraine in February, which will be examined at the EU summit. 

Matching the EU's stringent criteria for membership might take years, especially for a war-torn country. The demands range from establishing a competitive market economy to ensuring democratic rule. On June 16, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, and Romania paid a visit to Kyiv and expressed support for Ukraine's EU membership, beginning with candidate status.

(Image: AP)

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Published June 20th, 2022 at 18:40 IST

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