President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected any notion of "symbolic" European Union membership for Ukraine. Speaking ahead of an informal EU summit in Cyprus, Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine is defending Europe with real sacrifice and deserves full membership.
"Ukraine does not need symbolic membership in the EU," Zelenskyy stated, referring to previous symbolic agreements like the Budapest Memoranda. He stressed that while discussions on various membership formats are occurring, Ukraine's people support only full accession.
This comes as the EU unblocked a €90 billion loan for Ukraine and a new round of sanctions against Russia. European Council President António Costa announced that the "next step" is to open the first cluster of accession negotiations for Ukraine.
Estonia's Prime Minister Kristen Michal suggested a "fresh start" for Ukraine's EU accession, stating "Ukraine's future is in Europe. That is definitely so."
However, some leaders expressed caution. Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden noted that "there are no shortcuts" and Ukraine must meet membership conditions. Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever called short-term EU membership for Ukraine "not realistic."