The Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas, is now promoting a Ukrainian entry into the European Union as part of the response against Russia and the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
In Kallas’s statements in the European Paliament’s monthly plenary session, the PM stated that it is Europe’s “moral duty” to finally accept Ukraine’s application for EU membership.
In her statement, Kallas is referring to the long-time attempt of the Ukrainian government to meet the requirements that the EU has given them in order to join the European bloc. She also eluded to how this invasion would not have happened had Ukraine already been accepted into the EU.
In another statement for debate to the European Parliament that Kallas made on 9 March 2022 in regards to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, she called for the same thing.
“And the last point is about the Ukrainian perspective to join Europe. I think what the Ukrainians need right now is hope. They are literally fighting for Europe in Ukraine, and the least we can do is give them this hope and say that ‘yes, you are part of Europe; you are welcome in our family,” said Kallas.
With the addition of several new Member States in the near future, Ukraine might one day be one of them, which could greatly benefit both the EU and Ukraine.
Alarmingly, however, she also called for the use of NATO military force against Russia.
“In stepping up European defense, we must find consensus within the EU that, sometimes, the best way of achieving peace is the willingness to use military force,” Kallas said.
The use of NATO forces against Russia comes with the very real and present danger that the conflict could escalate outside of Ukraine and spill over into other parts of Europe.
In her 9 March statement, Kallas also said that making agreements with and concessions to Russia about disarmament for example, is a good way to make sure that the EU gets weaker and Russia gets stronger militarily due to the fact that Russia does not abide by their agreements in this area.
“There were some calls for making agreements regarding the security architecture. The problem is that the goal of Putin, or Russia, is to get those agreements because he knows that one of the values of the European Union is that we respect agreements – pacta sunt servanda, which means that we follow the agreements – whereas the Russian side is never going to follow them. So when we talk about disarmament or we talk about taking down military exercises or limiting defence, it actually means that we are making ourselves weaker because the other side is not going to follow those agreements, and we should not do that,” Kallas said.
To read Kallas’s full 9 March statement, click this link. To read more news about the situation and Parliament’s response, click this link.
