The European Parliament Presented a Plan for Ukraine’s Accession to the EU Despite Occupied Territories

If some of the territories remain occupied, Ukraine could become a member of the EU, following the example of West Germany or Cyprus. This was stated by Michael Gahler, the European Parliament’s rapporteur on Ukraine, in an interview with European Pravda. According to the MEP, we must remain realistic: Ukraine’s accession to the EU during the war would mean the EU entering the war – and since this decision requires unanimity, he sees no chance of it being adopted. Gahler believes that another scenario is possible with the start of a truce, but not all of Ukraine’s territory will be liberated. “Then we will have a situation similar to that of West Germany. It was a member of the EU, although it did not control East Germany. And after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the German constitution was extended to East Germany, which automatically became part of the EU. After all, for the European Union, Germany as a whole was a member, regardless of where its borders lay,” he explained. According to Gahler, the same situation now applies to Cyprus: “Once a solution has been found and Cyprus is reunited, EU law will apply throughout the entire island.” The MEP claims that the same could happen with Ukraine. “Even if, at the moment of the ceasefire, not all of Ukraine is under government control, nothing prevents us from negotiating your accession to the EU,” he said. “The subject of the negotiations will be Ukraine’s membership, not that of parts of Ukraine. Our partner in these negotiations will be the government of the whole of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. Any territory not controlled by the government, if there is any, will join the EU when control is restored,” added the MEP. However, he stressed that the existence of occupied territories would certainly not prevent Ukraine from becoming the EU member.