The former president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, in an interview with the German daily Augsburger Allgemeine, stated that Ukraine and the Republic. Moldova cannot be quickly accepted into the European Union.

“You should not make false promises to the people of Ukraine, who are suffering up to their necks. I am very upset by some voices in Europe who are telling Ukrainians that they can become members immediately. It would not be good for either the EU or Ukraine,” he answered a question about the prospect of Kyiv’s accelerated accession to the EU bloc.

“Everyone who has had anything to do with Ukraine knows that it is a corrupt country at all levels of society. Despite her best efforts, she is not allowed to join [UE] and requires large-scale processes of internal reforms,” ​​Junker justified.

“I have had bad experiences with some of the so-called new members, for example when it comes to the rule of law. This cannot happen again,” he emphasized.

When asked that the current president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the president of the EU Council, Charles Michel, seem to see things differently, Juncker replied that “the European perspective for Moldova and Ukraine, which defends itself so masterfully and defends European values , it must be supported, but cannot be compromised with the hope that it can be achieved overnight with the push of a button.”

“If there is progress in these countries, whether in Ukraine or in the Western Balkans, it should be possible for them to participate in certain parts of European integration. We should work to make possible something like partial membership, a reasonable form of limited expansion,” he added.

The former head of the European Commission called for a “fair” attitude towards Russia

Juncker headed the European Commission from 2014 to 2019, having been elected to the post by the European Parliament a few months after Russia’s illegal occupation and annexation of Crimea.

His commission and Juncker himself were criticized at the time for Brussels’ weak response to Russian aggression, especially after the outbreak of the separatist conflict in Donbas in eastern Ukraine.

Juncker has made several controversial statements on the subject and the EU’s relationship with Moscow, coming under fire in 2015, including from some Romanian officials after he said Western countries should “treat Russia fairly” and ” talk to her on an equal footing.” “.

He did this after former US President Barack Obama called Russia a “regional power”.

“We must, I say this openly, treat the Russians fairly. From conversations with Putin, I know that he does not accept phrases like Barack Obama’s that Russia is a regional state. What is that supposed to mean! We don’t talk about Russia like that!” he said at a press conference in Passau, southern Germany, in October 2015.

“The Russians want to be treated as equals, and the Russians are right,” he argued, adding that they “can’t be pushed behind the scenes because, as we’ve seen, they’re very quick to get people talking about themselves.”

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