EU Loan to Ukraine Masks Deep Rift Over Membership Bid
Estonia pushes for accelerated Kyiv accession while Croatia, others express skepticism about near-term EU entry
Hızlı Bakış
- EU approval of 90-billion-euro loan to Ukraine fails to conceal deep divisions among member states over Kyiv's EU membership bid, with Estonian PM Kristen Michal advocating acceleration while Croatian PM Andrej Plenkovic calls realistic accession by January 2027 unlikely.
- European Council President Antonio Costa ruled out accelerated membership following informal summit in Cyprus.
Yapay zekâ özeti
BRUSSELS, April 25. /TASS/. The European Union's decision to approve the 90-billion-euro loan to Ukraine could not mask the rift among its members, which became obvious during the latest summit in Cyprus, Politico wrote. The article says that "the celebration" in the EU "will be short-lived" because the next item on the agenda is Ukraine's admission to the club. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal told reporters he favored "accelerating" Ukraine's membership, but Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic all but scoffed at the idea of Kiev joining any time soon. "I don't think it's realistic that it'll happen on the first of January '27," he was quoted as saying. An unnamed European official told the portal that despite euphoria in the EU regarding the outcome of elections in Hungary, the defeat of longtime Prime Minister Viktor Orban's party in the latest parliamentary election has only made things more complicated. "Leaders against Ukraine's EU accession can no longer hide behind Orban's stance," one EU official closely involved in the talks has told Politico. Following an informal EU summit in Cyprus, European Council President Antonio Costa ruled out accelerated membership for Ukraine, telling Ukrainian journalists that a lot of work remains to be done.
