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'Nobody entered EU overnight': Ukraine's hopes of
quick membership dashed
Russian invasion of Ukraine has spurred EU capitals into rethinking what the bloc
should stand for.
European Union
leaders on Thursday condemned
the
"unspeakable suffering" Russia was inflicting on Ukraine but at a
summit in France they refused Kyiv's appeal for rapid accession to
the bloc and differed over the reach of sanctions against Moscow.
The Russian invasion - the biggest assault on a European state
since World War Two - has upended Europe's security order and
spurred EU capitals into rethinking what the bloc should stand for,
its economic, defence and energy policies. The EU was swift in
imposing sweeping sanctions and offering political and
humanitarian support to Ukraine, as well as some arms supplies,
in the days after Russia attacked on Feb.24.
However, cracks have appeared in the bloc's united front, from its
reaction to Kyiv's demand for an accelerated membership of the
wealthy club to how fast it can wean itself off Russian fossil fuels
and how best to shape an economic response. "Nobody entered
the European Union overnight," Croatia Prime Minister Andrej
Plenkovic said as talks among the 27 national leaders ended at
wee hours on Friday.