EU will monitor impact of minerals agreement with US on Ukraine’s European integration - European Commissioner Kos
Ukraine has assured that the future agreement with the United States on minerals will not contradict its aspirations to join the European Union. At the same time, the European Commission plans to closely monitor how this agreement will affect the process of European integration.
This was stated by European Commissioner for Enlargement Martha Kos, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrinform.
"Candidate countries are free to conclude agreements. This also applies to the agreement between the US and Ukraine. The European Commission welcomes all agreements that are in the best interests of Ukraine, but at the same time, we will be closely monitoring the possible impact of this agreement on the accession process. During the Association Council, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the government's decision on European integration. He noted that Ukrainians will stick to them and there will be no agreements that could jeopardize Ukraine's path to the EU," she said.
Commenting on the external influences on the EU enlargement process, Kos said that only the EU can lead the candidate countries to membership.
The European Commissioner believes that the EU must achieve results in the enlargement process and not lose any of the candidate countries.
She also noted that the EU enlargement process has never been so complicated before due to the influence of external forces, and not only from the East.
"According to the latest Eurobarometer data, about 90 percent of Europeans believe that the EU should be united in addressing global security challenges. The highest figure - 74 percent - is among people who believe that EU membership is good for them. Past waves of enlargement have never been about security, but a lot has changed in the past three months. And not only as a result of Russian aggression against Ukraine, but also as a result of the actions of a country that has been an ally of the European Union for 80 years. And this, in my opinion, is good for the EU," Kos added.
