Financial Times about "monumental consequences" Ukraine’s accession to the European Union

In early June, Brussels began a serious discussion of Ukraine’s membership in the European Union. This became the subject of a large article in the Financial Times.

As the newspaper notes, before the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the latter’s accession to the European Union seemed unrealistic and even “ridiculous.” The article comments on the discussion in Brussels:

“The meeting made one thing clear: it confirmed that an idea that might have seemed ridiculous even 18 months ago is now being taken seriously.”

As arguments in favor, it is indicated that the war in Ukraine clearly demonstrated the danger of the existence of a geopolitical “gray zone”, outside both the Russian Federation and Western spheres of influence: “Moscow’s invasion provoked a profound shift in the expansion policy EU“.

However, there is also a significant obstacle to the admission of not only Ukraine, but also other candidate countries – this is their poverty, because the Europeans will have to finance them. The source of the publication says:

“We need to urgently decide how we are going to do all this, and the consequences for our union are monumental in terms of finances and decision-making. Ukraine’s membership will have the heaviest burden on EU finances.”

FT notesthat the expansion of the European Union requires not only reforming the candidate countries, but also the bloc itself. Many states are now considering the task of how to do without rewriting the main documents of the EU, because then it will be necessary to hold a lot of referenda, which can slow down the process.

And no less relevant and important question: how to ensure unhindered decision-making by the European Union in the event of such an expansion from 27 to 35 countries. After all, decisions in the EU are made by consensus, that is, with the consent of all participants.

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