French Government Spoke In Favor Of Granting Ukraine Status Of Candidate For EU Accession

French Minister for European Affairs Clement Beaune spoke in favor of granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU accession.

According to European Pravda, he said this on the air of France Info on June 16, while the leaders of France, Germany and Italy arrived in Kyiv.

The minister was asked what is the position of France regarding the possible granting of candidate status to Ukraine after the positive conclusion of the European Commission on its application.

"I think we need to open negotiations and grant candidate status. We have a special responsibility because France is still presiding (the Council of the EU) ... Sending this signal, this prospect of entry is part of the support that we must provide to Ukraine," Clement Beaune said.

He was asked if he meant a regular procedure or an expedited procedure.

"We are talking about the future of Ukrainians who are under bombardment today. I think we need to give this signal about the opening of negotiations and I hope that this can happen quickly. The negotiations themselves, of course, take time," Clement Beaune said, noting that Ukraine needs will achieve European standards in many areas, from the rule of law to the level of economic development, and this process may take many years.

"I think it will not be a gift either to Ukraine or the EU, if to skip all these stages (of the standard procedure)," he said.

Recall that on June 8, the members of the European Parliament adopted a resolution by majority vote, in which they recommended that the Council of the European Union grant Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership.

We also wrote that Bloomberg found out which countries of the European Union oppose granting Ukraine candidate status.

Besides, Polish President Andrzej Duda went on a European tour to persuade leaders to grant Ukraine candidate status for EU membership.

In the meantime, Ukraine and Moldova can get EU candidate status, but with conditions.

It also became known that the European Commission plans in its conclusion on Ukraine's application for EU membership to recommend granting it the status of a candidate for EU membership.

On June 17, the European Commission is expected to conclude on the applications of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova for accession to the EU, on the basis of which the countries can receive the status of a candidate for entry.