Ursula von der Leyen visits Ukraine to discuss her EU candidacy

European Union President Ursula von der Leyen is visiting Ukraine. During her visit, she will discuss with President Volodymyr Zelensky the country’s application for membership of the European Union.

After arriving in Kyiv, she tweeted “Together with President Zelensky I will take stock of the joint work needed for reconstruction and Ukraine’s progress on its European path.”

Although bloc officials and leaders have warned that the road to membership is long, Kyiv has pushed for rapid admission to the European Union.

After the Russian invasion exposed Ukraine’s geopolitical vulnerability, it attempted to join the bloc.

According to Leyen, talks with Zelensky will “feed into our assessment” of Ukraine’s willingness to be considered as a candidate country to enter into lengthy negotiations.

Ahead of the June 23-24 summit, EU commissioners and officials are expected to consider Ukraine’s candidacy next week.

During his previous visit to Kyiv since the Russian invasion, Von der Leyen said that “Ukraine belongs to the European family”.

She had represented all 27 EU member states and had given Zelensky a questionnaire for her officials to fill out to provide details that would help inform the European Commission.

Expressing distrust of giving Ukraine a fast-track application process, some EU countries pointed to the fact that other countries like North Macedonia and Albania were already further down the road. of the candidacy.

(With agency contributions)

sion