Latest news with #EUmembership
Arab News
a day ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Denmark to push for Ukraine's EU membership during presidency
COPENHAGEN: Denmark will continue preparing Ukraine for EU membership in the face of Hungary blocking negotiations, when the Nordic country takes over the presidency of the European Council from July 1, its European affairs minister said on Thursday. 'Unfortunately, Hungary is blocking and we are trying to put as much pressure there as we can and also do everything we can to make Ukraine continue with the necessary reform work,' European affairs minister Marie Bjerre told a press conference in Copenhagen. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has strongly opposed providing NATO military and EU aid to Ukraine, saying the country's EU membership would destroy Hungarian farmers and the wider economy. Ukraine had already initiated the necessary reforms and is ready to speed up the negotiations. 'When we get to the point where we can actually open the specific negotiation chapters, we can be ready to close them very quickly,' Bjerre said. Denmark will also seek to reach agreement among EU nations on the bloc's planned 2040 climate goals. The European Commission plans to propose in July a legally binding target to cut EU countries' emissions by 90 percent by 2040, from 1990 levels. Faced with pushback from governments, however, Brussels is assessing options including setting a lower target for domestic industries, and using international carbon credits to make up the gap to 90 percent.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Denmark to push for Ukraine's EU membership during presidency
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Denmark will continue preparing Ukraine for EU membership in the face of Hungary blocking negotiations, when the Nordic country takes over the presidency of the European Council from July 1, its European affairs minister said on Thursday. "Unfortunately, Hungary is blocking and we are trying to put as much pressure there as we can and also do everything we can to make Ukraine continue with the necessary reform work," European affairs minister Marie Bjerre told a press conference in Copenhagen. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has strongly opposed providing NATO military and EU aid to Ukraine, saying the country's EU membership would destroy Hungarian farmers and the wider economy. Ukraine had already initiated the necessary reforms and is ready to speed up the negotiations. "When we get to the point where we can actually open the specific negotiation chapters, we can be ready to close them very quickly," Bjerre said. Denmark will also seek to reach agreement among EU nations on the bloc's planned 2040 climate goals. The European Commission plans to propose in July a legally binding target to cut EU countries' emissions by 90% by 2040, from 1990 levels. Faced with pushback from governments, however, Brussels is assessing options including setting a lower target for domestic industries, and using international carbon credits to make up the gap to 90%.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Baltic states issue statement backing Ukraine's EU, NATO membership
The parliamentary foreign affairs committees of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania issued a joint statement on June 6, affirming their firm support for Ukraine both in its defense against Russia and in its pursuit of EU and NATO membership. Following their meeting in Lithuania on June 6, the Baltic states reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Ukraine's EU integration, stating their goal of concluding accession talks and welcoming Ukraine as a full EU member by Jan. 1, 2030. Ukraine applied for EU membership in 2022 and was granted candidate status within months. Accession talks began in June 2024, with European leaders setting 2030 as a target for Ukraine's potential accession. Despite broad EU support for Ukraine's accession, Hungary remains a major obstacle. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on March 7 that his government would conduct an opinion survey on Ukraine's potential EU membership. In their statement, the Baltic states also urged the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague to take "concrete political steps" toward Ukraine's membership in the alliance. They argued that Ukraine's NATO accession would 'consolidate a just and lasting peace not only in Ukraine but also in all of Europe" and help uphold the rules-based international order globally. "Ukraine's NATO membership would provide a more effective and enduring framework for safeguarding Euro-Atlantic security," the statement reads. Ukraine applied for NATO membership in September 2022, months after the outbreak of the full-scale war. The country has not received a formal invitation, as the 32 members have not reached a consensus. The statement also reaffirmed the Baltic countries' pledge to support Ukraine 'until its full victory,' and welcomed expanding defense cooperation between Ukraine and like-minded partners. It encouraged inviting Ukraine to join the U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), calling it a meaningful step toward deeper regional security integration. "We call upon the Foreign Affairs Committees of other national parliaments, international parliamentary assemblies, governments, and responsible institutions to endorse this statement and to adopt corresponding actions that would ensure continued and determined support for Ukraine's victory, reconstruction, and full integration into the Euro-Atlantic community," the statement read. Read also: Nordics, Baltics urge concrete steps toward Ukraine's EU membership We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
BreakingNews.ie
01-06-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Irish unity vote only route for Northern Ireland to rejoin EU – O'Toole
The only route for Northern Ireland to rejoin the European Union is through an Irish unity referendum, SDLP Stormont leader Matthew O'Toole has said. Mr O'Toole was speaking ahead of an opposition motion in the Stormont Assembly, nine years on from the 2016 Brexit referendum. Advertisement The SDLP MLA will say there has been a 'structural shift' in British politics with the rise of Nigel Farage's Reform UK party. He will also tell Stormont any prospect of the UK rejoining the EU is 'miniscule', and a referendum under the terms set out in the Good Friday Agreement is the 'only route back to EU membership' for Northern Ireland. Speaking ahead of the debate, Mr O'Toole said: 'The SDLP welcomes the improved co-operation between the UK and the EU following the recent summit in London, along with progress in a number of areas that begin to ease some post-Brexit frictions. 'We always knew Brexit would be disastrous for the whole UK economy, for Northern Ireland and relationships across these islands. Sadly, so it has proven. Advertisement 'Northern Ireland was dragged out of Europe against its will, and our politics has suffered the consequences.' He said British politics was continuing an 'irresistible drift towards 'Faragism'.' Mr O'Toole added: 'We have virtually no power to stop that happening. 'But we do have a viable pathway to a different future – a European future – and that is through a new Ireland. Advertisement 'It is time all parties who claim to be pro-European and reject the 'Faragification' of UK politics to acknowledge our only route back into Europe is via an inclusive, hopeful new Ireland.'
Washington Post
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
EU presses North Macedonia to make 'era-defining' decisions for membership
SKOPJE, North Macedonia — The European Union's top foreign policy official on Friday urged North Macedonia to take 'era-defining' decisions to advance its bid for EU membership. Speaking in the capital Skopje alongside Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas reaffirmed the bloc's support but stressed that progress depends on multiple domestic reforms.
