European Parliament’s largest group supports Ukraine’s NATO membership

On Tuesday, the European Parliament’s largest political group – the European People’s Party (EPP) Group – adopted a Position Paper on Ukraine’s NATO Perspective saying it expects that the upcoming NATO Summits in Vilnius and Washington will pave the way to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance and that the accession process will start after the war is over and finalized as soon as possible.

“We cannot imagine Ukraine outside Europe’s security architecture after the war. At the NATO Summits in Vilnius in July and in Washington next year, we must correct the mistakes of the past and pave the way to a membership perspective for Ukraine as soon as the war is over”, said EPP Group Chairman Manfred Weber, MEP, as quoted on the group’s website.

“Ukraine’s NATO membership will not only strengthen the Alliance but will also be a further step towards sustainable peace in Europe,” according to the document, which calls Ukraine in NATO “an anchor of strengthened European security.”

“A strong Euro-Atlantic link with Ukraine’s NATO membership is essential for the European security architecture,” says Rasa Juknevičienė, MEP, the group’s vice-chair responsible for foreign affairs. “Ukraine already has a strong, battle-tested army. I believe that Ukraine’s membership will strengthen the security of every European.”

The EPP Group also hopes that a “strong and credible perspective of NATO membership for Ukraine can affect Russia’s calculus and persuade the Russian authorities to withdraw from Ukraine, creating the conditions for lasting peace on the European continent. This is why it is in the West’s interest to grant NATO membership to Ukraine in the nearest possible future.”

“An invitation for Ukraine to become a member of NATO would send the most powerful signal to Putin and the most hardcore imperial hawks in Russia to finally realize that Ukraine is no longer within their reach,” the Position Paper reads.

Photo: Christof Stache/AFP via Politico