Fact check: Any country that wants to join the EU must go through standard procedure – no exceptions
Ukrainian President Zelensky has indicated on several occasions that he wants to be part of the European Union. According to Caroline van der Plas, Dutch MP for the BoerBurgerBeweging party, this is not possible. Any country that wants to join the EU must go through the standard procedure. No exceptions.
The current discussion within the EU is now between one group that wants to show solidarity with Ukraine and give support, and one group that believes the chance of Ukraine actually becoming a member of the EU in the near future is virtually nil and so you are creating false expectations among the citizens of Ukraine, says Armin Cuyvers Professor of European Law on Dutch radio (available via PODNL).
Cuyvers says that the procedure looks at all areas of society. How the judiciary works, the political system, the financial system and the national rules. The commission negotiates on all those areas. Only when all those conditions are fulfilled can an accession treaty be concluded. And then it still has to be approved by all the individual Member States.