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DEUkraine is on the verge of opening negotiations with the European Union regarding membership in the bloc. This can be called the key achievement of the country in the area of European integration last year. But there is a lot of work ahead. In addition, the European Parliament elections and elections in various EU countries will be held this year. There is a risk that the issue of Ukraine may recede into the background, so everyone needs to mobilise. Such an opinion was expressed by Marta Barandiy, the founder of NGO Promote Ukraine (Brussels), FREEDOM TV channel correspondent reports.
Barandiy noted that Ukraine had already overcome a long and difficult path to the EU that began long before the Russian full-scale invasion.
“NGO Promote Ukraine was founded in 2014. Since that time, and more precisely since the Orange Revolution, Ukraine has been fighting for its place in the EU. The people of the country have been paying for it with their blood. Ukraine deserves to be a full-fledged member of the European Union. And I would like European politicians to help Ukraine as they would help themselves so that they consider the Russian attack on Ukraine an attack on their states, not just a theoretical threat. If they had considered it a real attack, the response would have been more decisive, faster. And there would be no doubt that Ukraine should join the EU and NATO today,” Barandiy said.
As for the trends in EU-Ukraine relations for 2024, according to the founder of Promote Ukraine, it is necessary to strengthen diplomatic work and make the utmost effort to continue providing assistance to Ukraine.
“The window of opportunity that opened for Ukraine with the beginning of the Russian large-scale invasion may be slowly closing this year. Therefore, we need to be ready to appeal to those politicians of the European Union who already support Ukraine or who still have doubts. For this, we managed to organise a forum where we invited activists from all over Europe. We asked them to call on their politicians to put Ukraine on the agenda of their political campaigns,” Barandiy noted.
The European Parliament elections will be held this year, and new leadership will be elected in some EU countries.
“Under these circumstances, the issue of Ukraine may take the second or even the third place. For this not to happen, we need to give counterarguments; we need to be on the alert. There will be elections in the USA as well. This is also a very important factor. This is both an opportunity and a risk for us. That’s why we all need to mobilise,” Barandiy stressed.
There is a threat that new politicians who will come to power in the EU countries may block the decisions regarding aid to Ukraine, adopted by their predecessors, the activist believes.
Watch the full interview on FREEDOM TV channel
Promote Ukraine Team
