Ukraine's EU membership hinges on aligning with bloc's core values — lawmaker

Ukrainian lawmaker Rostyslav Pavlenko stated this on Espreso TV.

"Unfortunately, we have a fundamental disagreement with the majority faction, because they believe it's enough to write down some EU accession date, and the job is done. But our European partners have already responded. They said that Ukraine's accession will happen when Ukraine is ready, essentially.

And what does 'essentially ready' mean? We'll understand very quickly: when Espreso, Priamyi, and Channel 5 return to digital broadcasting, when sanctions stop being sold, and when the State Bureau of Investigation and other structures are rebooted according to all the rules that Ukraine agreed to during its movement toward the European Union," Pavlenko noted.

According to the MP, Ukraine will join the EU when it essentially becomes European not only in its Armed Forces, not only in society's reaction and our resilience, but also in how the government operates - not in words, but in deeds.

"When we see this, then we can state that yes, we are moving toward Europe, and all this optimism from officials is justified. Until then - this is absolutely not a question for Europeans, if the Ukrainian government's actions don't align with the fundamental principles on which the EU is built," Pavlenko emphasized.

• Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's plan to block Ukraine's EU accession for 100 years is doomed to fail.