Ursula von der Leyen has proposed opening talks for the Ukrainian accession to the European Union without consulting the heads of member states, according to Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer. With the European Commission President acting unilaterally, Nehammer stated that Austria was not willing to begin accession talks under current conditions.
The Austrian leader made his remarks at a parliamentary committee debate on Monday, December 11th, after receiving questions from members of the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the populist Freedom Party (FPÖ).
While Nehammer stated that he did not support initiating talks under such circumstances, he did say Austria was open to Ukraine joining the European Union, saying that while Ukraine—like the Republic of Moldova—should be offered the prospect of accession, Austria was against any attempt to fast-track the procedure.
The European Commission proposed accession talks with Ukraine last month, with President von der Leyen stating on X, “Ukrainians are deeply reforming their country and preparing for accession, even as they are fighting an existential war.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted positively to President von der Leyen saying, “I welcome today’s recommendation by the European Commission to open EU accession negotiations with Ukraine. This is a strong and historic step that paves the way to a stronger EU with Ukraine as its member.”
Just months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, President von der Leyen expressed a real interest in getting accession talks with Ukraine started, visiting Kyiv in person last June.
Corruption remains a major issue for Ukraine. It was one of the problems highlighted by President von der Leyen last year as she noted the country still struggles with corruption but claimed that progress had been made on tackling it.
During the course of the conflict with Russia, Ukraine has seen several corruption scandals, most notably regarding army recruitment offices which have been accused of taking bribes in order to give men a way of avoiding military service. The certificates issued have also allowed the men to flee the country.
The scandal led President Zelensky to fire all of the heads of the regional recruitment centres while commenting, “This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery at a time of war is high treason.”
Former Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov was sacked earlier this year. after facing corruption allegations relating to the misappropriation of Western military aid.
Many within the European Union have highlighted Ukraine’s difficulties with corruption in response to proposals to make the country a bloc member.
