Vienna, 2 September 2023 (MIA) - The European Union cannot afford to prioritize Ukraine’s accession to the bloc while neglecting other long-standing candidacies, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg has warned.

Speaking on Politico’s EU Confidential podcast, Schallenberg said the EU must carefully consider its enlargement policy, while he believes that Ukraine and neighboring Moldova belong in the “European family”, B92 reports. 

"We can’t have Ukraine on the fast-track and the other countries on the service line. That will be a geostrategic disaster," Austria's FM said. 

Referencing George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘Animal Farm’, Schallenberg stressed that the EU should avoid a system in which some countries “are more equal than others.”

The Austrian Minister noted that the EU had promised membership to Western Balkan countries around 20 years ago, but had failed to deliver on that pledge.  

He urged Brussels to keep to its promises and drop “binary thinking” about membership, suggesting that candidate countries should be allowed some participation in EU plans and activities.

Photo: MIA archive