What happens between theItaly andUkraine? After having always supported – from the Draghi Government to that of Giorgia Meloni – the courageous fight of Kiev against the Russian invader, Italy is having second thoughts and would like to question or delay Ukraine's entry into the Volodymyr Zelensky inXNUMX-XNUMX business days? After the latest statements from the League and the Five Star Movement, and the concerns expressed by Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, doubts are legitimate. "If Italy now reverses course on Ukraine," the former Prime Minister and former European Commissioner replied in "la Repubblica," Paolo Gentiloni – the reasons are not understood”. Especially since the Meloni No later than a month ago, receiving Zelensky at Palazzo Chigi, he had expressed his hope for "Ukraine's accession to the EU".
Gentiloni dismantles, one by one, the four main objections to Kiev's accession to the European Union: 1) Would Ukraine's accession constitute aggression against Russia? "We're not kidding," Gentiloni objects, observing, "If we accepted this argument, it would mean entrusting Ukraine's fate to Putin." 2) Is Ukraine not ready? Before joining the EU—Gentiloni writes—Ukraine must undertake significant reforms, starting with anti-corruption measures, but this is precisely the subject of negotiations between Kiev and Brussels. 3) Could the accession of a large country with a lower per capita income to the EU cause harm to the rest of the 27? It's a serious issue, especially with regard to agricultural policy and cohesion funds, but the case of Poland demonstrates that solutions are possible. 4) Do other Balkan countries have priority? Gentiloni does not deny that Montenegro and Albania could join the EU first, but he maintains that Ukraine and Moldova could get their turn between 2029 and 2030. He is absolutely right.
