Portugal's new government, headed by Prime Minister Luiz Montenegro, is in favor of Ukraine's accession to the European Union, new Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said on Thursday, criticizing the previous government's hesitation, UNN reports citing Euractiv.
Details
"Prime Minister Luiz Montenegro has made it very clear that he is in favor of EU enlargement. That's something that I think needs to be clarified because Portugal has had some hesitation, especially when it was granted candidate status last year," Rangel said at the end of a NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels.
The minister acknowledged that the previous socialist government of former Prime Minister Antonio Costa was "completely on Ukraine's side," but that on the issue of enlargement "there were at least some hesitations, which always created a bit of ambiguity.
"There is no ambiguity now," he added.
The former Portuguese prime minister, the publication points out, has warned several times that EU enlargement should be accompanied by a reform of the EU bloc's structures, including its budget, to avoid imbalances, for example, in the distribution of European funds, the representation of countries in the European Parliament, and even the rules of decision-making between member states.
Responding to these reservations, Portugal's foreign minister acknowledged that enlargement "of course involves financial and treaty reform".
"This was the position of the previous government, and it remains the same," he added, pointing out the difference with the current government, which has demonstrated "a strong commitment to supporting expansion when it is due.
Addendum
Ukraine applied for membership in the European Union in February 2022, shortly after the start of the Russian invasion, and was granted the status in June of the same year. In December 2023, the European Commission recommended to the European Council to start negotiations, but there is still no concrete timetable.