Denmark says the EU should not ‘lower the threshold’ to accept Ukraine. On Thursday, Finance Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told the Financial Times that “geopolitical circumstances” could not warrant skipping governance changes. Denmark supports EU membership for Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and the western Balkans.
In an interview with the newspaper, Rasmussen warned that the EU risked “importing instability” if it lowers democracy and corruption criteria to speed up Ukraine’s and other candidate nations’ accession.
A country must adopt EU climate and labor rules to join the EU. Usually takes years.
Rasmussen told the FT that the EU shouldn’t “lower the bar” for Ukraine’s EU membership but instead invest and help.
Ukraine passed 2 of 7 prerequisites to start the EU membership process, but an EU official familiar with the bloc’s suggestions said several significant judicial reforms were needed.
After France and Denmark opposed the EU’s expansion to six Balkan countries, the European Commission recommended amendments in 2019 to give existing members a greater voice.
Rasmussen told FT that Denmark had changed its position and was open to EU reform, including majority voting, to accommodate new members.
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