AMSTERDAM, Dec 17 : The Netherlands will not block Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on Tuesday.
“The Dutch are fully supportive of Ukraine’s full membership in the European Union, and we do not block anything. Other countries block the process in the Council, but there will be no political blocking from the Netherlands,” Schoof said following talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in The Hague.
Ukraine, along with Moldova, was granted EU candidate status in June 2022, a move widely seen as a symbol of political support amid ongoing tensions with Russia. However, candidate status and the opening of accession talks do not guarantee eventual membership, nor do they legally obligate the EU to admit a country.
Turkey, for example, has held candidate status since 1999, North Macedonia since 2005, Montenegro since 2010, and Serbia since 2012. Croatia, the most recent country to join the EU, became a member in 2013 after a decade-long accession process.
(UNI)
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