Ukraine and its Eastern European allies want the invitation to NATO as soon as possible, but Washington and Berlin are wary of it. In addition to the USA and Germany, other Western representatives of NATO also oppose the invitation. They believe that Ukraine cannot be accepted into NATO while the war is going on so as not to provoke a conflict between NATO and the Russian Federation over the occupied Ukrainian territories. Although, in principle, in the long term, they agree on Ukraine joining NATO in the long term
EU countries insist on postponing the invitation for Ukraine's membership in NATO.
There is information that France is ready to send Ukraine an official invitation to become an ally of the Alliance. In turn, Poland, the Czech Republic and the Baltic states believe that only Ukraine's membership in NATO will convince Moscow to slow down the invasion and end the war.
Other accession supporters believe it will be cheaper than the constant supply of weapons to Ukraine. However, the U.S. asked allies not to push the issue at the NATO summer summit to prevent Russia from discussing a split in the Alliance. However, according to analysts, even if Ukraine receives an invitation, it "may take years" for approval by all the countries of the Alliance.
The process of joining Ukraine to the EU can be long
The bloc's representative drew attention to the fact that it took six years for Austria to join the EU and 11 for Spain.
Ukraine may need time somewhere in between, Martin Selmayr predicts.
Journalists asked the ambassador whether the official Brussels decision regarding the start of negotiations with Ukraine is not an empty promise of accession.
According to him, accession negotiations are a concrete promise to become a permanent member of the EU family.
However, this does not mean Kyiv has already done everything the bloc required. There is still a lot of work ahead.
Turkey withdrew from the European Union. In contrast, we see that Ukraine has established itself in the very heart of the EU. Negotiations with it are part of our security architecture. Europe should not return to the darkest times of the 19th century, when the aggressor invaded its neighbour to annex its lands, the EU ambassador noted.
