On May 25 (Moscow time), according to TASS news agency, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that his country supports strengthening relations between Ukraine and the European Union (EU), but Kiev needs to meet some conditions if it wants to get closer to this bloc.
Speaking after a meeting with Slovak President Peter Pellegrini and Slovak Parliament Speaker Richard Rasi, Mr. Fico emphasized that if Ukraine is granted membership status in the EU, it also needs to take specific steps towards peace.
If that status is granted to Ukraine, we also expect them to offer something. We need Ukraine to take some steps towards peace," Mr. Fico said.
The above statement was made in the context of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz proposing to grant Kiev the status of "integrated member" of the EU. According to this proposal, representatives of Ukraine can participate in some management agencies and coordination mechanisms of the bloc, but will not have voting rights in official decisions.
According to observers, the linked membership model can be seen as an intermediate step to strengthen Ukraine's participation in EU activities before moving towards the goal of becoming a full member. However, this mechanism also raises many debates among member states about the conditions and priorities in the bloc's expansion process.
Mr. Fico said that Slovakia has reacted quite cautiously to the proposal from Germany. According to the Slovak leader, the EU should prioritize completing the process of admitting Western Balkan countries such as Serbia, Albania and Montenegro before considering accelerating the process for Ukraine.
Sharing the same view, President Pellegrini said that the granting of special status to Ukraine according to a simplified process should not take place without accompanying conditions.
According to Mr. Pellegrini, if the EU prioritizes Ukraine over Western Balkan countries that have been waiting for many years to join the bloc, it could create a negative signal for people in the region. He believes that these countries have made more progress in meeting EU accession standards compared to Ukraine.
Statements from Slovakian leaders show that although the EU is seeking to increase support for Kiev, Ukraine's integration process may still continue to face many debates and political barriers within the bloc.
