Slovak PM: Ukraine can be EU associate member if it pursues peace

BRATISLAVA, May 25. /TASS/. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico says Ukraine can be granted status as a European Union associate member, but only if it takes steps toward peace.

"If such a status (EU associate member - TASS) is to be granted to Ukraine, <…> we expect them to give something. <…> We need Ukraine to take certain steps toward peace," he said after a meeting with President Peter Pellegrini and parliament speaker Richard Rasi, according to a video posted on the Facebook account (Facebook is banned in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which has been designated as extremist) of the Direction - Social Democracy party.

According to Fico, Serbia, Albania, and Montenegro should be admitted to the community before Ukraine.

Slovakia, in his words, reacted with restraint to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s proposal to grant Kiev special status as an "associate member" of the community, which would allow the country’s representatives to participate in the bloc’s governing bodies with no voting rights.

Pellegrini, in turn, noted that granting Ukraine this status in an expedited procedure should not take place "without any conditions." According to the Slovak president, admitting Ukraine into the community before the aforementioned countries could send "a very negative signal to the people in the Western Balkans, who have actually made much more progress in the accession process than Ukraine has."