Slovakia will not support special status for Ukraine in EU, Fico says

The Slovak government will not support special status for Ukraine in the European Union; Kyiv must fulfill standard conditions for membership in the organization, Prime Minister Robert Fico said.

“The government I lead will not support any shortcuts and exceptions, any opportunities to bypass the standard procedure for joining the European Union; if Ukraine wants to become a member of the European Union, it must fulfill all the conditions that other states had to fulfill,” Fico said during a meeting with members of the parliamentary committee on European affairs on Thursday.

He noted that Kyiv has a “long and difficult path” ahead to membership in the European Union.

“Various ideas about associated membership (of Ukraine in the EU — ed.) are not attractive to us,” the prime minister said.

Fico added that countries such as Serbia, Albania and Montenegro are ready for membership in the European Union at the moment.

Earlier, the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on the proposal of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to grant Ukraine the status of an associated member of the EU and extend to it the obligation of mutual defense provided for by the EU treaty.

Source: RIA Novosti