Ukraine needs NATO membership as soon as possible - Rebecca Harms

Ukraine's path to the EU will not be easy, but given the current circumstances, NATO membership is much more important now and every effort should be made to ensure that accession takes place as soon as possible.

This was stated by German MEP (2004-2019) Rebecca Harms, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"If we talk about the issues of peace and war, Ukraine's membership in NATO is much more important than in the EU, and it should happen as soon as possible," Harms emphasized.

According to her, the fact that Ukraine has applied for membership in the European Union came as a surprise to many EU members. For 10 years, the doors of the European community have been closed to Ukrainians, which is not the case with Georgia and Moldova.

"This is a significant bold step forward. I am very familiar with all the EU accession procedures, and I realize that this will not be an easy path. I would really like to see Ukrainians not have to go through such difficult negotiations as they did with the Western Balkans and Turkey. Together, we need to think about the best approaches given the current circumstances. I believe that we will succeed," the German politician added.

She emphasized that Ukraine already has excellent experience in terms of institutions and knowledge of European standards and legislation. But what needs to be "put on the table" and when it should be done to become a subject of negotiations are decisions that the Ukrainian authorities need to approach very carefully.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 26/05/2023