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Honestly, Ukraine has never been a good fit for EU. They would be better off with NATO, because they don't align with Europe on alot of other areas. And let's be honest, they primarily want the protection.
If they want to change that, and be more like Europe, fine. But that's a big move from where they are.
I think this view is very Russo-centric. EU helps the Ukrainian middle class by improving the economy and preventing corruption. Look at how much richer Poland is than Ukraine.
I don't think an opinion against Ukraine, is an opinion for Russia. Ukraine had many problems even before Russia invaded, and they did not qualify for membership. I'm just saying, there's a reason for that.
But I 100% agree that Ukraine would benefit, if it entered the EU. There's just so much more to it that the people in Ukraine should be aware of.
And don't think I don't wish for them to join at some point. I'm only saying that it's not the next step.
I'm not saying that it's a pro-Russia opinion. I'm saying that it reduces Ukraine to just being a victim of Russia imperialism, instead of being an entire country with people, politics, and an economy.
Post USSR, Russia has had influence over Ukraine, but it never threatened to invade Ukraine, that only happened in 2014. Ukrainian polls show that Ukraine never wanted to join NATO before the invasion of Crimea/Donbass. In fact, I've seen YouTube videos that argue that the lease of Sevastopol to Russia was a way to guarantee to Russia that it wouldn't join NATO.
I agree with you that there are challenges with EU membership for Ukraine, but it is also something that Ukrainians have wanted for a long time, more than they wanted military protection from NATO. Considering the current integration climate of the EU, and the international focus on Ukraine, I think they have a good chance. Much better than countries like Turkey which has been backsliding ever since they applied.
Kraut has a really good video going into detail what European integration will look like for Ukraine, and vice versa:
https://youtu.be/hA6y4o0-1XY
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/hA6y4o0-1XY
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
Europeans are generally open to the idea of Ukraine joining the EU, despite the costs and risks, but lukewarm at best about the bloc’s prospective enlargement to also take in Georgia and countries in the western Balkans, according to a survey.
The EU’s 27 heads of government are due to discuss the proposal at a Brussels summit this week – although Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has repeatedly said he opposes opening negotiations with Kyiv.
The polling, of six EU member states for the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), found considerable support for the candidacies of Ukraine and, to a lesser extent, Moldova and Montenegro, but also deep economic and security concerns.
However, there was widespread opposition to the eventual accession of Turkey in particular, as well as a markedly cool response to the prospect of Albania, Bosnia, Georgia, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia joining the union.
While this week’s summit would focus on pathways to membership for Ukraine and others, the debate about how exactly to achieve it “has scarcely begun”, said Piotr Buras, a senior ECFR policy fellow, who called for a “concrete timeline” for accession.
Europeans also showed themselves cool on Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia becoming member states, with less than 30% support jointly for the eight countries joining.
The original article contains 774 words, the summary contains 221 words. Saved 71%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
How would Montenegro work? It is surrounded by non-EU nations.
Montenegro has a border with Croatia, which is an EU member.
From 1981 to 2007, Greece was in the EU and didn't have a border with another EU member.
EDIT: And I suppose that Ireland doesn't have any borders with other EU members either after Brexit.
Ireland has an open border with a non-EU member.
Great idea, let's share our sovereignty with a flawed democracy filled with corruption that does not meet the requirements and values of the EU. We can deal with this, not that it is a moralistic whim, or that the EU has enough internal stability problems already.
I agree. I support them joining, but not in the immediate future. They've got a long way to go still.