Greece and Cyprus oppose Ukraine's accelerated accession to the EU, media report
Greece and Cyprus support Ukraine's EU membership but oppose an accelerated accession process suggested by several Eastern European countries.
Euractiv Greece reports, citing diplomatic sources.
According to sources in the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Greece's position is that the EU must follow all procedures under Article 49 of the EU Treaty.
Athens attaches particular importance to the process of joining the Western Balkans, which should be continued and accelerated, sources said.
They added that Athens insisted that the region's European perspective was a top priority.
When asked whether Greece would agree to grant Ukraine candidate status in June, a source close to the issue said Athens wanted to see the European Commission's proposal first. In general, Greece's position can be favorable, provided that there is unanimity among the Member States on this issue, which is currently not the case.
As for the Republic of Cyprus, government sources said that they first needed to see in which direction the opinion of the European Commission would develop.
If it is positive, Cyprus will agree to the proposal in favor of granting Ukraine candidate status.
However, the source added that the EU and Ukraine must strictly follow all relevant procedures so that the accession process would be lengthy.
According to Cypriot sources, this equation should consider the candidate countries from the Western Balkans, many of which have already made great strides towards accession, implementing the necessary reforms, and fulfilling several commitments.
Reference
Ukraine has formed a delegation, beginning a series of visits to EU capitals to negotiate Ukraine's EU candidate status in June.
The European Commission is due to assess Ukraine's application to join in June, ahead of a summit of EU leaders at the end of the month.
