Debating Europe: How can the EU keep its Eastern neighbours looking Westwards? (2013 07 15)
If EU membership is a distant prospect for countries like Ukraine, how can we keep them “in our orbit of interest”? Nikolai argued that Ukraine needs to see “definite steps” or it may start to look eastwards:
"The key to the Eastern Partnership is Ukraine… Should [definite steps towards closer EU-Ukraine relations] fail to materialize… the EU will lose its geopolitical battle due to its sensibilities over the Ukrainian opposition being subjected to judicial opaqueness and eventual incarceration."
Listen to MEP Justas Vincas Paleckis answer.
"Change is possible, but only if the European Union recognises the special needs of countries like Ukraine, Belarus and the Caucasus and builds a system of perhaps staged membership that encourages and enables countries like ours to understand and embrace the fundamentals of European values and European standards as a prerequisite for full membership."
Listen to MEP Justas Vincas Paleckis answer.
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