Albanian PM warns Ukraine is being misled about standard EU accession path
Photo: Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama (Getty Images)
Promises regarding Ukraine's standard path to EU membership do not reflect reality, so Brussels should change its approach and involve Kyiv in working at the same table right now, states Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.
The Albanian prime minister expressed the view that admitting Ukraine to the EU through the classical procedure and with the fulfillment of all formal criteria is practically impossible.
"What is promised to Ukraine is a lie. On the standard accession path, with all the criteria, it will never be admitted. Everyone knows this," Rama said.
In his opinion, the only viable option is for the EU to change its procedure.
Instead of multi-year bureaucratic stages, he proposes allowing Ukraine to work together with block members and granting full membership based on real results.
The Albanian leader called on European politicians to show more courage in strategic decisions. He noted that without internal changes and due to slow processes, the EU risks turning into a Titanic.
Furthermore, Rama advocated for the abolition of the veto power within the EU. He emphasized that in conditions of global competition with the US, China, and India, a situation where one country can block the joint decisions of the entire bloc is unacceptable.
Albania is currently one of the leading candidates for EU membership among Western Balkan countries.
Official Brussels and member states are considering 2030 as the target date for the next wave of the bloc's expansion.
Active discussions are ongoing in the EU regarding further expansion and the conditions for the admission of new members.
In particular, Brussels emphasizes strict adherence to all procedures and reforms.
Earlier, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos stated that Ukraine would not receive any concessions or privileges during its accession to the EU, and the tentative date of joining in early 2027 is unrealistic, as the process is based exclusively on the merits of the candidate country.
At the same time, to accelerate Euro-integration processes, Brussels is considering the possibility of systemic changes in the work of the bloc itself.
In particular, the EU is preparing a reform to abolish the veto power, which will allow decisions to be made bypassing the national limitations of individual states and significantly simplify the admission of new members.
