European Union must help Ukraine concretely without being divided

Portuguese Prime Minister claimed that the European Union can do many things effective immediately to help Ukraine but cannot be divided in a legal and political discussion on the country joining, during a press statement at the end of the dinner for NATO Heads of State and Government hosted by the Heads of Government of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, and Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, in The Hague.

António Costa underlined that "there is a lot that can be done. The association agreement (between Ukraine and the EU) does not allow freedom of circulation, but why shouldn’t we allow it? There are many restrictions on the circulation of Ukrainian goods in the internal market, but why shouldn’t we lift those restrictions, enabling the Ukrainian economy to be better integrated in the common market? It is very important for a country that is at war to be able to integrate with a market the size of the European one".

"To offer hope to Ukraine now, we need a very clear commitment to continue offering financial, military, and humanitarian assistance, and to set up a solid platform for Ukraine’s reconstruction", he said. 

The Prime Minister added that "we gave the Ukrainians concrete hope by signing a 250-million-euro financing agreement, of which 100 million will be paid shortly, offering humanitarian support, international protection to those who request it, weapons and political backing so that, at the most important vote in the United Nations General Assembly, Russia was only able to garner support from four countries".

Not dividing Europe

António Costa claimed "that here is a lot, that isn’t a legal status whose effects will only be seen later, that can be done without dividing the European Union. The Ukrainian people need immediate answers. Instead of being divided over legal matters, it would be best to strengthen our unity around concrete answers that Ukraine needs today".

"One of the major forces that has allowed assistance to Ukraine is the European Union’s unity, and to break it up is to weaken the support to Ukraine", he said.

He offered as example the Balkan countries that applied years ago, and whose processes haven’t moved forward, "which accumulates frustration" and stated that "the last thing the Ukrainian people deserve and need is frustration. What we need to assure is what is effective immediately" and not "a long process to see whether Ukraine meets the required conditions, or when it will be able to meet them…"

Frustrations of other applicants

The Prime Minister questioned whether the European Union "has the conditions to welcome a country like Ukraine? What about Moldova and Georgia, wo are also under association status?", noting that "there are countries we’ve told shouldn’t take steps in the joining process without finishing the western Balkan countries", who applied longer ago.

"The European Council must take into account all these factors and the consequences of Ukraine joining – we need to think beyond our emoticons. We don’t know how long the war will last, but no warring country is under institutional condition to meet the entry requirements", he stated. 

And "after the war is over, how long will it take Ukraine to meet all the conditions? And how will we manage the expectations of the Ukrainian people, who, as applicants, the day after the war is over will think they will join the European Union" he said, recalling that the Portuguese process took 9 years.

Let’s not create false expectations

Underlining that "these frustrations have an effect on the European Union", he noted that "today, the support to the UE in many Balkan countries is much lower than it was, fruit of this frustration". He also indicated the case of Turkey, who applied 50 years ago, and "the involution felt, namely in terms of secularism".

The Prime Minister stated that "we mustn’t give out any sign that will break the Ukrainian people’s spirit, nor must we create false expectations, or waste our energy discussing legal issues."

The European Union "must do what matters: raise the 9 billion euros we undertook to give Ukraine this year; ensure military, humanitarian assistance and not overlook that the war has worldwide effects and that Europe cannot and must not ditch its responsibilities and the commitments undertaken at the African Union summit, it must back the United Nations’ efforts to unblock the Ukrainian grains to avoid a world food crisis, and ensure that the next Ukrainian harvest can be stored in the silos that still hold the previous harvest".

NATO

António Costa also mentioned the NATO summit on 29 and 30 June in Madrid, stating that the "NATO Secretary General has reached out to Turkey, Finland, and Sweden to try to overcome the issues raised by Turkey which, due to the fact they have to do with terrorism, must be taken seriously". 

Jens Stoltenberg "is endeavouring to reach an agreement as soon as possible that can allow Finland and Sweden to join NATO soon." "It would be desirable for this to be done at the Madrid summit. If the reasons for Turkey blocking this could be addressed by then, great, as this would be a great message of strength. If it is not possible, there is no point in making a drama out of it, as it will be overcome in time and negotiating the obstacles using diplomacy", he said.

"The Madrid summit is important of us to approve the NATO Strategic Concept for the next 10 years, the NATO investment plan for the next ten years, which are the core issues, and to strengthen NATO’s unity, which we’ve taken major steps in since the 2020 US elections", he said. 

The Prime Minister recalled that "at the last NATO summit [Brussels, 2021] there was still the idea that the United States would turn more towards the Indo-Pacific region, but at a time when NATO unity was tested, we all reacted as a bloc and have been strengthening NATO to the East, without overlooking maritime security and the South border".

The following attended to the dinner, in addition to the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, the Danish Minister of State, and the Portuguese Prime Minister: the President of Romania, Klaus Ioannis, the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander de Croo, the Polis Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, and the Latvian Minister-President, Krisjanis Karins, as well as NATO Secretary General.