The admission of new members to the EU, in particular, Ukraine, cannot be rushed, DW columnist Barbara Wesel believes.

Before thinking about new EU member states, urgent work needs to be done within the EU itself. This includes getting rid of the need to make decisions by consensus..

She calls the situation around the oil embargo against Russia “unbearable”. And if Hungary uses its blackmail potential to the maximum, this, according to the observer, shows that things will not go on like this..

“A reasonable majority of EU member states must finally overcome themselves and believe that the world will not collapse if one country acts differently and ends up in a minority. In this case, there will be nothing left but to bet on the common sense of the democratic majority of Europeans, ”the columnist writes..

In her opinion, it is necessary to introduce penal measures against those countries that stubbornly go against the general rules with their obviously anti-European views.. Of course, this should take place exclusively within the framework of respect for basic values \u200b\u200band rights..

“But most member states must finally get over the fear of putting one of them in the penalty box and depriving him of his right to vote,” the journalist writes.. - Of course, this should be a last resort and used only in exceptional cases.. But without such sanctions, the EU will remain toothless in the face of its internal opponents.”.

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Regarding the possible membership of Ukraine's membership in the European Union, Barbara Wesel is in solidarity with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen: these should be step-by-step reforms in parallel with the restoration of the country.

“Solidarity is a wonderful, great and politically important feeling. Generous, noble solidarity with Ukraine is the call of the times. But the decision on Ukraine's accession to the EU must be made wisely, regardless of the degree of emotions of solidarity, - the columnist writes.. - It is important to politically encourage Ukraine and give it a strong signal indicating the direction towards the EU. Whether the old idea of \u200b\u200ba Europe of two speeds will come in handy again, and whether Ukraine will be offered a kind of status of a country awaiting accession to the EU, as the French president proposed, or a geopolitical association will be founded, which the head of the Council of the EU Charles Michel spoke about - in any case, such a connection should. - Red. ) and are part of the common European family.

But with the actual entry of Ukraine into the European Union, one must be extremely careful, the DW columnist believes: “If the EU wants to be a global player, it must protect its internal essence. A country as big as Ukraine could upset the delicate balance within the EU.”.

“After the wave of accession to the European Union of the countries of the south-east of Europe, we realized how difficult it is to cooperate with states that are not really ready to become EU members yet. We have seen that the process of transformation from autocratic to democratic rule in them takes much longer than we hoped, and along the way, a return to the old. Therefore, the plan for Ukraine, which was presented by the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, is reasonable. After the war, billions of euros for the reconstruction of the country should be allocated in parallel with the implementation of reforms. An independent judiciary, functioning law enforcement agencies, stable political institutions, education and healthcare at the European level, a strong civil society - all these are fundamental conditions for Ukraine's accession to the EU.. After Zelensky's pro-Western democratic rule, nationalists may come to power in Ukraine. But Europeans must be sure that this will never happen in their ranks.. Ukraine is a huge country with great potential, but also with an equally large gap in democratic development. In the fight against corruption and organized crime, Kyiv before the war did not advance as far as Brussels demanded,” the author states..

The slow process of Ukraine's accession to the EU, parallel to the implementation of reforms, is in the interests of both parties. As a result, Ukraine will become a strong democratic state, integrated into Western structures.. And the EU will be replenished with a valuable member country. But Kyiv should be patient and prudent even in its current state of emergency - a simplified process of acceptance as a political symbolic action could, after all, turn out to be a disaster for the EU itself..