Indications have emerged that there are some current EU members who have concerns and are currently making moves, with possible implications that threaten the ambition of Ukraine to become a full-fledged member of the European Union.
These existing members includes Germany and France and some other EU current members whose concerns may be similar to those of the two countries.
These countries all voted in support for Ukraine to be admitted as a candidate member state of the EU.
Therefore, while they support Ukraine’s membership ambition in public, in private they are raising concerns and making some moves in secret that may contradict their public stand on the issue.
Germany for instance has secretly demanded for the review and overhauling of the laws of the European Union with a view to checkmating any possible voting advantage Ukraine will derive from becoming EU full member state, The UK Telegraph have reported.
This same concern have also been expressed by the French President, Emmanuel Macron.
Upon admission as full member, Ukraine will automatically become the 5th largest member of the organization, which puts it in position to potentially wield voting power that can be combined with some Baltic and Nordic states to impact EU polices and decisions.
Therefore, Germany and France for instance fear that this possibility will shift current EU balance of power from the two front leaders of the European Union currently.
Germany is currently the largest and richest EU member state, and commands great power and influence due to its size, but a synergy between Ukraine and Poland, its neighbor and close ally, could produce a combined voting power based on the size of their population, which will threaten Germany`s current position.
For this very reason, The Telegraph reports that the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, have recently, in a meeting with EU counterparts in Brussels demanded for relevant changes in the EU governing laws before Ukraine can be allowed to become a full-fledged member of the EU.
“Under the bloc’s current voting system, which takes into account the number of countries voting and their population, Kyiv would have nine per cent of the EU’s total powers.”
Therefore, a close alignment between Ukraine and its immediate European neighbors in the Central and Eastern Europe will create a voting majority and powerful block that could unsettle the traditional Franco-German power-base.
“This would shift the balance of power within the EU further away from Germany and France more towards Central and Eastern Europe, where the countries, together with the Nordics, for the first time would become a more sizeable bloc in terms of voting power,” Dr Nicolai von Ondarza, of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, was quoted by the media company.
These concerns have however, been noted and addressed by Ukrainian top diplomats according to the report, saying:
“They’re trying to think creatively how decision-making processes can be streamlined,” a top Ukrainian diplomat said. “Not to neutralise Ukraine but to avoid possible complications.”
“The fair point is we need to prepare our institutions and political class to produce officials to work here on an adequate level,”
“This is a very important issue when Ukraine reaches this point to contribute and not complicate.” The paper reported.
