The Prime Minister of Ireland, Micheál Martin, confirmed strong support for Ukraine’s European aspirations and expressed the intention to accelerate the European Union’s enlargement process during Ireland’s upcoming EU presidency.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Ireland’s Position on Ukraine’s EU Membership
Micheál Martin emphasized that Ukraine’s membership in the European Union is one of the most important guarantees for the country’s future security. During a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Dublin, he highlighted that Ireland shares common values with Ukraine and considers it part of the European community.
“Ukraine is part of the European family. It shares the same values. And we will continue to work – including when we will be presiding (over the EU) next year – to advance the negotiations regarding Ukraine’s EU membership as strongly as we can,” he said at the joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Dublin.
The head of the Irish government also noted that his country has experienced significant positive impacts from EU membership and is convinced that the Ukrainian people deserve a similar transformation.
Prospects for Negotiations and the Position of Other EU Countries
Martin stressed that one of the main goals of Ireland’s presidency of the European Union, which will begin in the second half of next year, will be to accelerate the EU enlargement agenda. In particular, Ireland plans to actively promote the negotiation process regarding Ukraine’s accession, aiming to agree on the opening of negotiation chapters.
The EU accession procedure involves negotiations across 35 chapters of legislation, grouped into six thematic clusters. These chapters cover areas from the rule of law, public administration, internal market, energy, agriculture to external relations. Unanimous support from all EU member states is required to open and close each chapter.
At the same time, Ukraine faces serious challenges on its path to membership. In particular, Hungary continues to block the opening of negotiation clusters, and its Prime Minister Viktor Orbán claims that Ukraine’s accession to the European Union poses risks for Europe and is not advisable for the EU itself.