JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine deserves E.U. membership. It has work to do to make its case.” – Washington Post
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“… Last year, the 27-nation [EU] … declared Ukraine an official candidate for admission. [European] [p]olicymakers … are now butting heads over whether to set a [membership] timetable …. Some are pushing for 2030 … others suggest an association short of full membership. An array of complex problems would need to be ironed out …. [Ukraine] would be by far the poorest member (by per capita GDP) and one of the biggest (by population), and therefore eligible for massive E.U. subsidies, especially for agriculture …. [In addition to] war reconstruction … [that] could [total] $1 trillion. … Zelensky …will … have to prove … that he has the managerial [capacity] and determination to implant independent, trusted and enduring systems and public institutions. … … [I]f corruption is left to fester, it will … diminish Ukraine’s chances of gaining entry to the E.U. and … [after the war, NATO,] …. tangible symbol[s] of Kyiv’s [post-Soviet] aspiration … [to be] a full-fledged Western country …. That prospect … triggered [] Putin’s decision to unleash the bloodbath [in Ukraine] ….”