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BERLIN — Leaders of the European Union’s three largest economies said Thursday they would support Ukraine’s candidacy to join the 27-member bloc, a move President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has strongly backed as his country faces the Russian invasion is losing ground.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi pledged support after traveling to Kyiv on the night train. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who is also visiting Kiev to meet Zelenskyy, accompanied them.
“We are at a turning point in our history,” Draghi said, calling the visit “a clear endorsement of our support.”
“Every day the Ukrainian people defend the values of democracy and freedom, which are the pillars of the European project, our project,” he said.
The announcement comes a day before the European Union executive is expected to recommend granting Ukraine candidate status.
US sends $1 billion in military aid to bolster Ukraine’s struggle
Ever since Russia launched its all-out invasion, Zelenskyy has argued that Ukraine should be included in the 27-strong bloc under a special, expedited process. Senior Ukrainian officials have dismissed the idea of conditional membership, saying the starting point for any discussion is Ukraine’s legal status.
Full membership, Zelenskyy said, would do that “Proves that words about the longing of the Ukrainian people to be part of the European family are not just words.”
While support from Germany, France, Italy and the Commission will give new impetus to Ukraine’s bid for membership, all 27 member states have yet to agree – and EU diplomats expect significant debate and divisions.
Even after candidate status has been granted, the process usually takes years. All legislation of a potential member has to be selected and brought into line with the standards set in Brussels.
Macron recently warned that it could be “decades” before Ukraine is a full member.
Ahead of their meeting with Zelensky, European leaders visited the suburb of Irpin, an area that has borne the brunt of Russia’s initially failed efforts to encircle and take the capital.
The visit comes at a crucial time on site. Zelenskyy has also warned that Ukraine is suffering “painful casualties” in the eastern region of Donbass and has urged Europe to provide more military support.
He said unless defense aid is significantly increased, the war threatens to descend into a bloody stalemate as Russian forces continue ground attacks on the strategic city of Severodonetsk to the east. President Biden on Wednesday responded to Ukraine’s calls for more guns with an additional $1 billion in security aid to the country.
But Europe is under pressure to do more. Germany in particular is under fire for being negligent in arms deliveries. Berlin has yet to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine, despite promising to do so almost two months ago.
The German Ministry of Defense has announced that 15 promised Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns will be delivered in July, while Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers will be shipped “soon”.
Scholz’s visit comes after months of pressure. He initially said he would not act after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier disinvited Ukraine. Ukraine’s ambassador in Berlin, Andriy Melnyk, called him an “offended liverwurst” for refusing to leave.
He’s also said he doesn’t feel like just dropping in for a photo op – raising expectations for an announcement during the trip.
The three leaders “want to show their support for Ukraine and the citizens of Ukraine,” Scholz said upon arrival in Kyiv, German news agency DPA reported. “But we don’t just want to show solidarity, we also want to make sure that the help we organize – financial and human, but also in the area of weapons – continues,” he said.
The German Chancellor’s hesitant response to the war has raised questions about Germany’s commitment to the Ukrainian cause. “We need Chancellor Scholz to assure us that Germany supports Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in a ZDF interview before the visit.
He urged the country to make a “decision” and stop weighing Ukraine against maintaining ties with Russia.
The European Commission’s decision this week on Ukraine’s candidacy does not grant that status, but will be taken into account by member states when they meet at a European Council summit in Brussels next week to discuss the issue. A key question is whether the Commission will decide to grant candidate status under conditions related to the rule of law or corruption – an idea Ukraine has opposed but some member states support for giving Ukraine a morale boost while raising concerns about of the country’s preparedness.
While several EU officials, lawmakers and leaders have been pushing in recent weeks to speed up Kiev’s bid, others have tried to dampen Ukraine’s expectations, arguing that Ukraine is not ready for membership and that other countries are in the lead On the way forward, Ukraine could start the long accession process quickly, but the way forward would be long.
Among EU leaders, Draghi has been a particularly vocal supporter of Ukraine’s ambitions to join the European Union at a time when the idea of giving Kyiv candidate status seems to be gaining traction. Two weeks ago, Draghi said the term was opposed by “almost all” major European countries, “with the exception of Italy.”
“I support Ukraine to become a member of the European Union and I have done so from the beginning,” Draghi said at the press conference. He also said that a ceasefire should only take place on “conditions that Ukraine deems acceptable”.
But France and Germany have dampened expectations of a speedy accession process. Macron has previously suggested that Ukraine should join a separate “European political community” in the meantime, which is widely seen as halfway.
Macron was a key supporter of EU sanctions against Russia after its invasion in February. But the French leader, who had visited Moscow in a last-ditch effort to avert war and sought a key diplomatic role by portraying himself as a natural point of contact for Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, was increasingly criticized for his efforts.
The presidential palace in the Élysée kept a fast-growing list of Macron’s calls with Putin and Zelenskyy in the run-up to the invasion, but the frequency of those calls has decreased significantly since then.
Macron’s critics claim that his often ambiguous statements appeared overly aimed at helping Russia avoid humiliation in the war and that he lacked public commitment to a complete victory for Ukraine on the battlefield.
“Nobody negotiated with Hitler,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in April, according to Reuters. “Mr. President Macron, how many times have you negotiated with Putin, what have you achieved?” he added.
Macron has consistently refused to reiterate Biden’s strident condemnations of Putin, who has called the Russian leader a “war criminal,” a “murderer,” and a “butcher.”
The Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin doesn’t care if he’s acting for his cause
Scholz has also come under criticism. Instead of saying that Ukraine should win, he instead used the phrase that Russia should not win. Ukrainian officials fear this lack of explicit support suggests Europe is heading towards a negotiated settlement that would involve the cession of Ukrainian territory.
During his visit on Thursday, the German Chancellor said the sanctions the EU has imposed on Moscow so far “are helping Russia to abandon its plan and withdraw its troops, because that is the goal”.
Despite his softer language, Macron has insisted that France will continue to support Ukraine economically and with humanitarian aid. Macron also this week dismissed criticism that he had not been loud enough in supporting Ukraine, arguing that “excessive talk” will not speed up the war’s timeline.
“If – as I hope – Ukraine wins, and especially if the fire stops, we must negotiate. The Ukrainian president and his leaders will have to negotiate with Russia,” he told reporters on Wednesday during a visit to Romania, where French troops are part of a NATO multinational force tasked with defending the eastern part of the alliance.
“I think we are at a moment where we – we Europeans, we as the European Union – need to give clear political signals in relation to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, given the context in which they have been waging heroic resistance for several months perform.” Macron said in a comment that appeared to refer to Thursday’s visit to Kyiv.
French voters will cast their ballots in the final round of the country’s general election on Sunday. Macron beat far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the April presidential runoff, securing a second five-year term, but he now faces an emboldened and more cohesive left-wing opposition led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Noack reported from Paris and Rauhala from Brussels. Stefano Pitrelli in Rome, Kate Brady in Berlin and David Stern in Kyiv contributed to this.