One hundred active and former European politicians as well as personalities from the fields of science, journalism and literature appeal to the French President Emmanuel Macron, in his capacity as President of the EU Council, to immediately initiate formal negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

The whole open letter in the wording

Mr, President of the Republic,

The threats to the security and integrity of Ukraine and, beyond, of the whole of Europe, are unprecedented since the end of the Second World War.

On the one hand, some EU Member States have already taken courageous decisions. Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, France and Poland have decided to provide civilian and military equipment to Ukraine, while Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain have committed themselves to strengthening the military presence in the region; France is preparing to do the same in Romania.

On the other hand, the European Union is working with the United States and other Nato members on a list of new sanctions to try to ward off a new invasion by the Russian Federation.

While these are steps in the right direction of strengthening deterrence, it may not be enough to ensure stability in Ukraine in the short to medium term.

For these reasons, we turn to you, particularly in your capacity as President of the country holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, in the hope that you will promote among the other Heads of State and Government an initiative that would make the European Union a truly strategic player in this crisis. Since in 2015 the European Union recognised “Ukraine’s European aspirations” and welcomed “its European choice”, the time has come to give it a real prospect of integration by immediately opening negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, with the aim of its full integration within ten years.

Even if the current crisis does not turn into open conflict, Ukraine will continue to be subject to destabilisation operations. The precise and binding timetable of reforms that the accession process entails would be a powerful incentive to strengthen democracy and the rule of law in that country and thus a serious antidote to any future attempts at destabilisation. We very much hope that you will take this proposal into consideration

Gefunden bei Herzingers Hold These Truth / Zuerst publiziert auf The Lithuania Tribune / Bei Herzinger findet sich auch eine deutsche Übersetzung.

Last Updated on 8. January 2024 by Lupo