MEP Viola Von Cramon-Taubadel believes the EUCO’s decision [to grant EU candidate status] on Moldova and Ukraine is “very cheap” as “it doesn’t cost anything to give them a candidate status in a geopolitically very tense situation.” She thinks “they can be with this candidate status in the waiting room, as we have seen with Turkey and the Western Balkans, forever.”

“On Georgia, the country has a problem. In the past, it was always the frontrunner, when it came to reforms, anti-corruption, modernisation of society. But now they have gone completely in the wrong direction,” she went on, adding that “instead of closing the gap, they have been opening the gap, making it difficult for the European Council to grant them the same status as Georgia and Moldova. It’s only fair to say: do your homework first, and then we will grant you the same candidate status as we have done for the other two.”

In an interview with Euractiv, MEP Cramon said “The candidate status is the least the EU leaders could do, without having any financial obligations. Of course, it’s good to have EU unity and for the Ukrainians – a goal, while they are fighting this terrible war.”

Viola Von Cramon believes this summit for the Western Balkans “was a complete failure,” calling it ” a disastrous signal. There is only one person happy from this situation, and this guy sits in the Kremlin.”

“I have to admit that I’m terribly disappointed, and when the Commission was calling itself a geopolitical Commission, come on, this is a joke. Look: They let them travel to Brussels, all six of them, and they haven’t given them anything, they haven’t delivered on anything. Neither has Bosnia got the candidate status, worse still, North Macedonia and Albania didn’t get accession negotiations, and Kosovo didn’t get visa liberalisation, an issue that has been dragging on for four years now,” she asserted.

This EU – Western Balkans Summit was a complete failure.

This sends really a disastrous signal.

There is only one person happy from this situation, and that guy sits in the Kremlin.https://t.co/ECfWPM2AX5

— Viola von Cramon (@ViolavonCramon) June 24, 2022