#eu membership for ukraine

[tomorrowusa]

Roberta Metsola is president of the European Parliament. She has gone on record as favoring observer status for Ukraine and Moldova in the EU Parliament.

The EU last year designated Ukraine and Moldova as official candidate countries, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, Metsola has been clamoring for official accession negotiations to begin this year. EU leaders are due to decide whether to formally open Ukraine and Moldova’s accession talks at a summit in December, once they’ve parsed a heavily anticipated report from the European Commission providing a status update on all countries still waiting in the EU’s wings. “Make no mistake: Politically if a country looks to Europe, then Europe should fling its doors wide open,” Metsola told POLITICO in an interview in her ninth-floor office at the Parliament in Brussels.

President Metsola has been a high profile supporter Ukraine for a while.

Metsola, who at 44 is the Parliament’s youngest president ever, was the first EU leader to visit Kyiv, meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on April 1 last year; a giant photo of the pair shaking hands now hangs on the esplanade in front of the Parliament in Brussels, a visual symbol of her championing the country in its war against Russia. “Enlargement has always been the European Union’s strongest geopolitical tool,” Metsola said.

The EU needs to play a greater role regarding Ukraine, it would be advantageous for both the EU and Ukraine. A belligerent and imperialistic Russia which is headed by an unhinged dictator requires a strong counterbalance in Europe.

[workersolidarity]

🇭🇺🇺🇦 🚨

HUNGARY'S PRESIDENT, VIKTOR ORBAN CALLS UKRAINE "ONE OF THE MOST CORRUPT COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD" IN INTERVIEW

In an interview with French Magazine, La Pointe, Hungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orban laughed off the idea of Ukraine joining the European Union, and called Ukraine "one of the most corrupt countries in the world."

Orban has been firm in his staunch opposition to Ukraine joining the European Union, calling the country "corrupt" just one week before European leaders are expected to make a decision on starting talks for ascension to the bloc.

"Hungary is a neighbor of Ukraine... we know exactly what is happening," Oban told French magazine La Pointe in an interview Friday.

“Ukraine is known to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world. It’s a joke! We cannot take the decision to start a process of accession negotiations."

Next week, EU leaders will gather in Brussells to discuss two major decisions on Ukraine; one to approve the decision to begin ascension talks with Kiev, and the second to release €50 Billion ($54 Billion) in aid to Ukraine.

However, these discussions are made more difficult by Orban's steadfast opposition to continued support for Ukraine, let alone talks for ascension to the European Union.

In his interview with La Pointe, Orban stood firm on these decisions, repeating his positions and defending his stance, calling the plan to begin ascension talks a "bad decision" and saying Ukraine wasn't ready to join the EU, despite the Commission's declaration otherwise.

According to Orban, the European Union needs to do a lot more "preparatory work" before the bloc will be ready to accept Ukraine.

One of Orban's most pressing concerns with regards to Ukraine has been his consistent opposition to allowing unfettered Ukrainian grain imports into the EU.

“If you allow this [Ukrainian] agriculture to enter the European agricultural system, it will destroy it the next day,” Orbán told Le Point. “Without transforming our farm subsidy system, we cannot let them in. The consequences will be terrible,”

Instead, Orban suggests a "strategic partnership treaty" to raise the level of EU-Ukraine cooperation without offering membership.

The Hungarian leader was recently invited to a dinner hosted by the French President Emmanuel Macron, where he tried, without luck, to convince Orban to change his stance on Ukraine.

But the Hungarian leader told La Pointe he “cannot give up [his] position” on Ukraine.

"My idea is to try to convince him to listen to my arguments,” Orbán said. “I am very interested in his opinion on the reasons that push France to act in this way.”

#originalsource

#summarizingsource

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[head-post]

French strongly condemn Macron’s interview with The Economist

French President Emmanuel Macron gave an interview to The Economist, once again saying he did not rule out sending French troops to Ukraine, provoking criticism from France’s right-wing political forces.

Asked whether he was sticking to his words about possibly sending ground troops to Ukraine, Macron said:

“Absolutely. As I said, I’m not ruling anything out, because we are facing someone who is not ruling anything out.”

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, leader of the right-wing Debout la France (France Arise), commented on the French president’s words on his X:

“In The Economist, Emmanuel Macron continues his madness: he wants to send our children to Ukraine to die in a conflict that is not ours and which could end overnight if Western leaders so choose. Read more about my peace plan.”

In his peace plan, which was published back at the very beginning of the military conflict in 2022, Dupont-Aignan calls for a ceasefire on both sides, the establishment of a humanitarian and demilitarised zone in Ukraine, and the lifting of all sanctions at the end of the peace process.

Also on social media, Dupont-Aignan posted a video saying “Our children should not go to Ukraine to die! Emmanuel Macron’s madness will drag France into a conflict that is not its own. Peace is possible!”

Read more HERE

[girlbossbehaviour]

studying at uni has genuinely made me insufferable. every time theres eu news i physically have to discuss it w everyone

[samaradiso]

@xbasilrp liked for a starter !! (it's been so long i am so sorry)

Kato! Kato--I've heard the news, sweetheart, წარმატებებს გისურვებ! [ nana leaps at her with an almost tackling sort of hug, thrusting a bottle of amber wine into her hand. there's a crank of her lips to the side and a finger wag. ] I hope you didn't believe for a moment that I'm less than one to come prepared, no? This is a 2010. [ she clears her throat. ] Not vintage. I have to keep the lights on, ah? But close.

[timesofocean]

NATO aims to make progress on Finland, Sweden's membership bids

New Post has been published on https://www.timesofocean.com/nato-aims-to-make-progress-on-finland-swedens-membership-bids/

NATO aims to make progress on Finland, Sweden's membership bids

Brussels (The Times Groupe)- NATO’s chief on Monday said he hoped to “make progress” on Finland and Sweden’s membership bids.

“We also aim to make progress on Finland and Sweden’s historic applications for NATO membership, while ensuring the security concerns of all allies are addressed. I spoke with (Turkish) President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan on Saturday, and I will meet with the (Swedish) Prime Minister (Magdalena) Andersson later today,” Jens Stoltenberg told a pre-summit press conference in Brussels.

Stoltenberg said NATO should “take into account the concerns expressed by allies, such as Turkey in this case. And that’s why we have intensified the dialogue with our ally, Finland, Sweden over the last weeks.”

The NATO secretary-general announced that Finnish and Swedish leaders will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Madrid on Tuesday. A meeting of senior officials from all three countries will precede the four-way meeting at NATO headquarters on Monday, which will also include Stoltenberg.

“Our NATO summit in Madrid will be transformative with many important decisions, including on the new strategic concept for a new security reality,” he said.

According to Stoltenberg, NATO will “transform the NATO Response Force and increase the number of our high-readiness forces to more than 300,000.”

NATO leaders will meet in Madrid to discuss the largest military deployment since the end of the Cold War.

Talks will focus on NATO’s response to the war in Ukraine, as well as Finnish and Swedish petitions to join the 30-member alliance.

In response to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO last month.

The Turkish government, a long-time member of the alliance, has expressed concerns about the membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.

During its 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU – has killed over 40,000 people.

[dcoglobalnews]

EU WEIGHS UKRAINE CANDIDACY AS RUSSIA INFLICTS ‘HELL’ IN EAST

EU leaders met in Brussels on Thursday to discuss making Ukraine a candidate to join the bloc, a “decisive” moment likely to infuriate Russia as its forces battled stiff resistance to advance in the embattled eastern Donbas region.Western officials also denounced Moscow’s “weaponising” of its key gas and grain exports, with a US official warning of further retaliation measures at a G7 summit in…

[globalhappenings]

Will Ukraine get the status of an EU candidate? The media learned about the intentions of the European Commission

Will Ukraine get the status of an EU candidate? The media learned about the intentions of the European Commission

Three countries oppose granting such status to Kyiv in the near future Macron opposes granting Ukraine the status of an EU candidate. / Photo: Collage: Today The European Commission will recommend granting Ukraine the official status of an EU candidate country. This is confirmed by several officials familiar with the discussions that took place during the debate between the members of the…

[odinsblog]

“I sometimes hear people say that Russia was forced to attack Ukraine because Ukrainians wanted to join NATO. Those people also often say that NATO promised it would not expand to the East, but later broke this promise. And this, allegedly, is the reason why Russia keeps attacking its neighbors.

If you have ever heard people say something like that, please know that this is not true. And it will take me less than five minutes to prove with facts that both statements are false.

First, let's have a look at the timeline of events.

Russia first invaded Ukraine in February 2014 by occupying the Crimea peninsula. At that moment, Ukraine was a neutral country by law and expressed no intention of joining NATO whatsoever. For instance, during the Revolution of Dignity, the protesters insisted on Ukraine joining the EU, not NATO. It was only in autumn 2014, after many months of war, that Ukraine abandoned neutrality.

So what came first? Russia attacking Ukraine, or Ukraine wanting to join NATO?

The answer is clear.

Had Russia not threatened Ukraine's existence, there would be no reason for our country to seek collective security. So please do not repeat the lie that, I quote, “Russia attacked because Ukraine wanted to join NATO,” end of quote. This does not correspond with the facts.

Now let's have a look at the story of NATO allegedly promising not to expand to the East.

If you ask people who say this, when exactly, such a promise was made and who made it, most of them will not be able to provide a clear answer. Spoiler, because no such promise has ever been made and the whole story is a Russian fairy tale.

Those more sophisticated will tell you that the promise was made to the President of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev. They may even refer to the 1990 U.S.-Soviet negotiations on the reunification of Germany. Again, let’s consider the timeline.

In summer 1990, when these talks were held, the Soviet analog of NATO, the Warsaw Pact, still existed. Its dissolution, let alone the Soviet Union's dissolution, was not on the cart. No one even talked about it or imagined it. It was only next year, in 1991 that the Warsaw Pact, and later the USSR, quite unexpectedly ceased to exist.

Now explain to me just how the very issue could be even discussed in the summer of 1990. It is not surprising that Mikhail Gorbachev later himself refuted this falsehood. When asked by a journalist whether any such promise had been made, he said this was a myth.

Now let's look at it from another perspective. How could NATO even promise anything like that?

Initially, it is not NATO that decides which country joins it. Countries themselves need to want it. And actually, the membership criteria are very difficult. It requires a lot of political will and reform. All the NATO members that joined it after 1991, really wanted to be part of it.

Their people wanted this.

And here comes the most uncomfortable question for Russia: Why were all of the nations that had been part of the Soviet Union or the Socialist bloc so eager and desperate to join NATO?

Well, maybe because in three decades, Russia has invaded or incited war in at least three of its neighbors, Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine. At the same time, Russia has not dared to invade any of its NATO neighbors.

Do you see the pattern?

The only reason for countries in the vicinity of Russia to seek NATO membership has always been and remains the need to protect their people from Russia.

Therefore, Moscow has only itself to blame for the fact that all of the central European and Baltic nations ran away from it and hid under the NATO umbrella as quickly as they could.

Do not let Russian officials or their supporters in the West fool you. Russia attacked Ukraine not because NATO expanded to the East, or because Ukraine wanted to join NATO. Russia attacked because it denies Ukraine's right to exist and wants to conquer our land and kill our people. It is through our shared strength that we can and must stop Russia and put an end to its aggressive plans for the rest of Europe.

For this to happen, keep supporting Ukraine and don't buy Russian lies.”

👉🏿 https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2014/11/06/did-nato-promise-not-to-enlarge-gorbachev-says-no/

👉🏿 https://www.tumblr.com/odinsblog/686191406300184576/appeasement-does-not-work-appeasement-didnt

👉🏿 https://www.tumblr.com/odinsblog/684530801484922880/believing-putins-reasons-for-invading-ukraine

👉🏿 https://www.tumblr.com/odinsblog/742088177664344064/violated-agreements-1991-russia-cosigns

[liberalsarecool]

European Union seeks to strengthen their allyship with additions of Ukraine and Moldova.

🇺🇦! 🇲🇩!

This is a blow to Russia and other authoritarians in the region.

Who else is against the Ukraine membership to the EU? None other than CPAC/MAGA idol Viktor Orban of Hungary. The same Orban who gets star treatment from knobs like Tucker Carlson.

So for clarification: Democratic European allies and Ukraine would be good for America.

Those against a strong EU would be Russia, Hungary, and MAGA traitors.

[head-post]

NATO in no hurry to send troops to Ukraine, fearing rising tensions

European NATO countries are in no hurry to send troops to Ukraine for fear of increasing tensions, and the US may send troops to Ukraine if it is defeated in a conflict with Russia.

Poland has not ruled out sending troops to Ukraine but will not “show its hand” to prevent Putin from questioning further NATO action, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has told Euractiv.

Speaking to BBC World during his visit to the US, Sikorski stressed that amid ongoing war in Ukraine, Warsaw is taking active defence measures, including leading in defence spending. He said:

We are spending the biggest proportion of our GDP (on defence) in NATO, 4% of GDP, and we might go higher next year.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk rejected the suggestion of plans to directly involve Polish troops in the war, saying he “does not expect to send troops to Ukraine”. He said:

I think we should not speculate today about the future, whether something will happen to change that.

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto strongly rejected the idea of sending troops to Ukraine, saying that such a move would only increase tensions, according to Euractiv.

Crosetto told Corriere della Sera in an interview on Saturday:

Our position remains unchanged: we have always said that Ukraine should be helped in every possible way, and we are doing so. But we have also always ruled out direct military intervention by our troops.

The US may send troops to Ukraine if Kyiv is defeated in a conflict with Russia, the leader of the Democratic minority in the US House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, told the CBS.

Read more HERE

[highlights-of-the-lowlife]

sweden has issued a warning to its citizens to be prepared for a possible war with russia. this is based on the russian playbook of invading countries attempting to join nato. sweden has applied and is only waiting for hungary and turkey to approve for full membership.

here's why i wouldn't worry. when georgia entered talks with nato, they were unfortunately a relatively poor country that hadn't put much spending into defence and didn't have much in the way of ties to the rest of europe. that made them easy pickings for russia. the plan being that no country can join nato unless they have no conflicts within their borders and full territorial control. its why georgia got invaded and why ukraine is being invaded now.

sweden on the other hand is close to europe both geographically and politically. sweden has also feared a russian invasion for a good deal of its history as they have been at war multiple times so sweden has spent its military budget near exclusively building a modern army strategically focused on stopping russia.

their gripen fighter jet has been built so that it can take off and land from nearly back road in sweden. their stridsvagn tank is designed to be low to the ground in order to be concealable for ambushes. their coastal defences have some of the best radars in the world. and touching them will get both the EU and the americans involved.

russia can't afford another front. especially not one where they have to avoid finnish territory now that finland is a nato member. especially not one against a modern army with equipment designed to stop them flat. and especially not when ukraine is bleeding them dry of every military asset they have.

as much as i love ukraine, their military was in fairly dire straights prior to the '22 invasion and yet even having to scramble to mobilise they've managed to push russia out of kyiv, kharkiv and kherson with what is essentially nato handmedowns and old soviet donations. they're beating an army 3 times their size with whatever is found in the nato parts bin. russia has no chance of beating sweden one on one let alone still trying to capture ukraine

[vita-min-ze]

I feel like you don’t actually need to know all the intricacies of the history and relationship between Ukraine and Russia to assess who is right and who is wrong when it comes to the current war (I certainly don’t). A basic set of principles that should apply to every country:

invading another country is evil

raping/torturing/executing people (including children!!!) is evil

deporting children to your own country is evil

considering other cultures inferior and trying to erase them is evil

threatening a country (and its entire continent) with nuclear attacks is evil

Russia is doing exactly that. And it shouldn’t matter whether you like Tchaikovsky and Russian ballet, have Russian friends or never even heard of Ukraine before the war, your morals should not depend on how much you know about a country or identify with its people.

You cannot claim to oppose imperialism and ignore Central Asians and Eastern Europeans when they talk about their experinces with Russian imperialism. You cannot claim to support indigenous people but ignore the suffering of the indigenous people of Russia. You cannot claim to support refugees and victims of occupation and/or civil war and ignore Syrians, Georgians, Sudanese, Malians and more. And let’s be real, it cannot be just anti-Russian propaganda if so many people keep complaining at the same time, not just now but for decades and even centuries!

Btw, here are things that cannot always be described as “good” but are absolutely justified as a matter of self defense:

using weapons to defend your people against your invaders (and yes, that often includes the killing of soldiers)

feeling frustration and hatred towards your invaders and imagining a world where they get a reckoning

complaining about your invaders’ war crimes

demanding justice (not bloody revenge)

Oh no, Ukrainians are so mean ;( How dare they not want to be friends with those that hurt them. Unbelievable. And seeking prosperity and security through EU and NATO membership is russophobic too. [Sarcasm obviously]

Ukraine must win and Russia must lose, it’s that simple.

[transparentgentlemenmarker]

75 years ago, the NATO "Defensive" alliance was created to counter a perceived fear of communist expansion into Europe. Regardless of the fact that there was no plausible evidence that the Soviets ever planned to invade "Europe," When the Soviet Union ceased to exist, so did NATO's marginal rationale for existence. However, the "defensive" alliance kept expanding against the advice of many western voices and those of the Russians. These protests and warnings were, of course, ignored as the Alliance continued to peddle a North American world view to Europe and its expanding Eastern European membership. NATO today has proved itself to be a fractious weapons sales scam and political platform, not a military alliance. It has energetically participated in numerous illegal and brutal unilateral military actions serving the political rationale of the Washington, London, and Brussels elite. From Belgrade to Tripoli, NATO has delivered its brand of "freedom" by bombing civilians, their homes, and societies. The coming collapse of the Ukrainian misadventure represents such an existential threat to the viability of this paper tiger that it will contemplate almost any avenue other than acceptance of failure. Rather than defending Europe from War, NATO looks destined to become part of a self designed self-fulfilling prophecy of War and destruction. Rember, nothing of the Machine ever works against the machine, and NATO is, despite what we are told, a giant profit Mill and ponzi scheme, peddling fear to sell weapons while the citizens of Europe face poverty and societal discontent. Russia and the Russians have no designs or desire for a War with NATO, no serious academic or political analysts outside of the echo chamber of Atlantasist fantasy believes that. Remember, if there's a people on earth that understand the devastation of war, it's the Russians. If you actually want to examine the engine of the Ukraine war (and all other post WW2 conflicts) and any conflict thay flows from it, lift the bonnet on the Washington and London elites and their greasy association with the corporations profiting from the War. Neither they nor their bureaucratic appointees will see their children, brothers, or fathers doe in a War with Russia or indeed wIth China. That is an honour they will bestow on the ordinary taxpayers of the EU and US, and while they're at it, they'll also convince you to pay for it all too.

Il y a 75 ans l’OTAN était créée pour contrer la peur perçue d’une expansion communiste en Europe. Indépendamment du fait qu’il n’existait aucune preuve plausible que les Soviétiques envisageaient d’envahir « l’Europe », lorsque l’Union soviétique a cessé d’exister, la justification marginale de l’existence de l’OTAN a également disparu. Cependant, l’alliance « défensive » a continué à s’étendre contre l’avis de nombreuses voix occidentales et contre l’avis des Russes. Ces protestations et avertissements ont bien sûr été ignorés alors que l’Alliance a continué à colporter une vision nord-américaine du monde à l’Europe et à son adhésion croissante à l’Europe de l’Est. Aujourd’hui, l’OTAN s’est révélée être une escroquerie de vente d’armes et une plate-forme politique, et non une alliance militaire. Il a participé énergiquement à de nombreuses actions militaires unilatérales illégales et brutales servant la logique politique des élites de Washington, de Londres et de Bruxelles. De Belgrade à Tripoli, l’OTAN a défendu sa « liberté » en bombardant les civils, leurs maisons et leurs sociétés. L’effondrement prochain de la mésaventure ukrainienne représente une telle menace existentielle pour la viabilité de ce tigre de papier qu’il envisagera presque toutes les voies autres que l’acceptation de l’échec. Plutôt que de défendre l’Europe contre la guerre, l’OTAN semble destinée à faire partie d’une prophétie auto-réalisatrice de guerre et de destruction. N’oubliez pas que rien de la Machine ne fonctionne jamais contre la machine, et que l’OTAN est, malgré ce qu’on nous dit, une gigantesque usine à profit et une chaîne de Ponzi, colportant la peur pour vendre des armes alors que les citoyens européens sont confrontés à la pauvreté et au mécontentement sociétal. La Russie et les Russes n’ont ni l’intention ni le désir d’une guerre avec l’OTAN, aucun analyste universitaire ou politique sérieux en dehors de la chambre d’écho du fantasme atlantasiste ne le croit. N’oubliez pas que s’il y a un peuple sur terre qui comprend les ravages de la guerre, c’est bien les Russes. Si vous voulez réellement examiner le moteur de la guerre en Ukraine (et tous les autres conflits de l’après-Seconde Guerre mondiale) et tout conflit qui en découle, levez le chapeau sur les élites de Washington et de Londres et leur association graisseuse avec les entreprises qui profitent de la guerre. Ni eux ni leurs représentants bureaucratiques ne verront leurs enfants, leurs frères ou leurs pères participer à une guerre avec la Russie ou même avec la Chine. C’est un honneur qu’ils accorderont aux contribuables ordinaires de l’UE et des États-Unis, et pendant qu’ils y seront, ils vous convaincront également de payer pour tout cela également.

Otan = Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord

Nato = National Association of Theatre Owners

[dcoglobalnews]

RUSSIA HALTS GAS SUPPLY TO FINLAND OVER PAYMENT DISPUTE, NATO

…Cutoff of gas shipments follows Helsinki’s application to join the NATO defense alliance.Russia’s Gazprom on Saturday shut off gas exports to Finland, marking an escalation in tensions between the two countries following Helsinki’s bid to join the NATO defense alliance. Pipes at the Gasum plant in Imatra, Finland, on May 12, 2022 | Vesa Moilanen/AFP via Getty Images DCO Global News Published…

[globalhappenings]

EU leaders told when they will consider Ukraine's application for membership

EU leaders told when they will consider Ukraine’s application for membership

The European Council will return to this issue at its next meeting. EU leaders will consider the issue of Ukraine’s membership in the EU in July. / Photo: Collage: Today The leaders of the European Union said they took note of the preparation of the Commission’s conclusions on Ukraine’s application for EU membership. This issue will be considered again in July, during the scheduled…