German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock declared on Monday during a visit to Kyiv that the European Union will extend its borders into areas of Ukraine that are occupied by Russia, vowing that the EU will span from “Lisbon to Luhansk”.
Despite the much-touted Ukrainian Spring counteroffensive having failed to regain much ground this year before the winter sets in, German Foreign Minister Baerbock expressed certain confidence the coming years would absolutely see the Russian occupation comprehensively rolled back.
Speaking from Kyiv at a meeting between the foreign ministers of the 27 European Union member states and President Zelensky, Baerbock said: “With this Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Kyiv we are bringing the European Union to where the heart of Europe is currently beating most strongly. The future of Ukraine lies in the European Union, our community of freedom. This will soon stretch from Lisbon to Luhansk.
“With every village, every metre that Ukraine liberates, it smooths its way towards the European Union, metre by metre. And we as European partners and friends will continue to support Ukraine in this endeavour, day by day.”
The remarks were clear support for Ukraine, possibly supported by the Union, reclaiming the breakaway Donbas region of Luhansk (Lugansk) that was annexed by Moscow over a year ago and has been militarily occupied by Russia since 2014, nearly a decade.
The comments from the German minister ruffled feathers in Moscow, which claims the Luhansk region as its own after holding a referendum in the region on coming under the Kremlin’s umbrella last year, the result of which Kyiv and most Western observers rejected given that it was conducted while Russian forces controlled the area.
Responding to Baerbock, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova joked that the EU would have to accept Russia in as a member for its borders to extend to Luhansk.
While opposition to the continued funding of the war has begun to grow in the United States, there has been an increased push from the top brass in Brussels to solidify the European Union’s claim on Ukraine. Last week, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said that there is “nothing off the table” in terms of accelerating the typical membership ascension process to see Ukraine join the bloc at record speed, adding that she hopes that formal talks will begin before Christmas.
This came after EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen declared earlier last month that “history is on the move” and that “the future of Ukraine is in our Union”. There does seem to be some debate within Brussels about the speed at which Ukraine can feasibly be admitted as a member, however, with EU Council President Charles Michel previously saying that he expected the country to join the bloc by the end of the decade.
Yet a more significant roadblock may come from outside of the halls of power in Brussels, with the national governments of every member state having veto power over the admission of any new member state.
Last week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reiterated his heavy scepticism over giving such approval to Kyiv, noting that there are “very difficult” questions that remain about letting Ukraine into the EU, principally the issue that German Foreign Minister Baerbock seemingly took as read; that the country’s borders are currently in dispute amid the war with Russia.
“To admit a country to the EU without knowing its parameters, this would be unprecedented”, he said, remarking: “I think we need to answer very long and difficult questions until we get to actually deciding about the start of accession talks.”
Other outstanding issues include the former Soviet state’s struggles with tackling persistent corruption, with Ukraine ranking as one of the most corrupt nations on the European continent. It also remains to be seen how the population of the war-torn country will be calculated, with millions fleeing to other European states in the wake of the Russian invasion last year.
Questions will likely be raised as well over economic issues, such as the drastically lower wages for Ukranians compared to other EU states, which could potentially result in even more migratory flows from Ukraine as workers seek better opportunities in countries like Germany and Poland. Tensions over trade have already emerged between Kyiv and Warsaw, which hitherto has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine. However, with the EU lifting restrictions on Ukrainian agriculture, Poland has sought to impose trade barriers of its own in order to protect their farmers from what they see as unfair competition from a cheaper labour force.
Slovakia, which has also joined Poland in moving towards imposing restrictions on Ukrainian grain. Over the weekend, left-wing populist former prime minister Robert Fico secured the most seats in the parliamentary elections. While it remains to be seen if Fico will be able to form a coalition government and secure a third stint as PM, he has already said that he would seek to end military aid payments to Kyiv as well as throw his support behind Viktor Orbán’s calls for Zelensky to immediately enter into peace talks with Vladimir Putin to put an end to the conflict.