According to media reports, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi are together on board a special train on the way to Kyiv. The heads of state and government boarded the train in Poland and were expected in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday morning, the Italian daily La Repubblica reported. She published a photo of the three politicians on board the train. ZDF also announced the start of the journey.
The three heads of government are expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and discuss the country’s possible accession to the European Union. Scholz expressed reservations and referred to the lengthy accession process, which was “not a matter of a few months or a few years”. Berlin rejects an accelerated procedure for Ukraine.
France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Portugal are also among the skeptics. There is criticism of the rampant corruption in Ukraine and the lack of the rule of law. As recently as September, the European Court of Auditors attested Ukraine’s failure in the fight against “major corruption” and lamented the coalition “between oligarchs, high-ranking officials, politicians, the judiciary and state-owned companies”. Southern countries like Portugal could also suffer financial losses if billions of EU funds are diverted to Ukraine.
