Meloni: EU should hurry up and let Ukraine in

The EU should speed up Ukraine’s accession process as a reward for its contribution to Europe’s security in fighting off Russia’s invasion, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Wednesday.

Ukraine “is an outpost for the security of the European continent,” Meloni said, standing next to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal as part of a bilateral conference in Rome aimed at preparing the country’s reconstruction.

“The smartest way to thank Ukrainians for what they are doing is to accelerate the possibility for them to become part of the European institutions,” Meloni added.

Ukraine, which was granted EU candidate status last June together with Moldova, has been pushing its European partners to quickly integrate it into the bloc — a process that usually takes years.

In January, Shmyhal told POLITICO he was aiming to secure EU membership within two years, which meant starting accession negotiations by the end of 2023.

But so far, Brussels has carefully avoided endorsing Kyiv’s ambitious targets.

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Brussels in February, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Ukraine’s progress on the EU path, but said there was “no rigid timeline” for accession, adding it was “a merit-based process.”