The Diplomat
The Minister Counselor and Chargé d’Affaires of the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid, Dmytro Matiuschenko, asked yesterday for the “open and explicit” support of Spain for the accession of his country to the European Union.
In statements made during an event with the President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, Matiuschenko said that now is the time to “clearly support” Ukraine’s entry into the EU and, therefore, Kiev “would very much appreciate an open and explicit support” from Spain in this regard.
The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, yesterday signed a document formally requesting his country’s accession to the European Union, hours after calling for the opening of a “special process” to allow “immediate” accession so that it can “stand alongside all Europeans on an equal footing”. The day before, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, supported Ukraine’s accession because “it is one of our own and we want it in”.
However, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said yesterday that Ukraine’s entry “is not on the agenda” at the moment and European Council President Chales Michel yesterday advocated “strengthening ties” between the EU and Ukraine but warned that for the accession process to begin “there must first be a debate.” “There is already a very powerful association agreement that can be strengthened with this Ukraine that wants freedom and democracy,” he added.
For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, declared yesterday to RNE that “joining the EU is not a capricious process or one that can be done by a political decision” and that the candidate country must meet certain social, political and economic standards. For this reason, the minister avoided the explicit support of Spain to the Ukrainian candidacy and recalled that the EU already has “multiple types of relations” with the countries of Eastern Europe and, “of course, there is a space for Ukraine to have a relationship with the EU”.
During the event, Diaz Ayuso showed the support and solidarity of the regional government towards Ukraine in the face of an “illegal, irrational, unjust and totalitarian invasion”. “No country in the European Union is suffering what Ukraine has been suffering for years for being part of our project,” she added.
