“Finland is ready to play its part to help,” he added, emphasizing the importance of a united, courageous and determined EU.
On Thursday, Marin paid a short visit to Ukraine at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal. He also met with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk.
He said the Ukrainians sent a message that the world must not forget them.
“We visited mass graveyards and saw other kinds of atrocities that took place,” Marin said. “The conciliatory and hopeful message is that reconstruction is already underway in cities where horrific acts have taken place. People are looking to the future. They want to believe that things will be better tomorrow. “
Ukraine’s application for EU membership was one of the topics of the visit. The Finnish government emphasized its press release that it will support the country on its path to membership. “It is important to create concrete steps for Ukraine to become a member of the EU,” Marin said.
However, he reminded the broadcaster that there are no shortcuts to membership.
“I don’t see that we could make an exception in the sense that the criteria are not met. I am ready to grant Ukraine candidate status, ”said Marin. “The status of a candidate country does not mean that it will become a member of the EU tomorrow. Membership, of course, requires a lot of work. We will discuss how Ukraine can rebuild and at the same time work towards EU membership.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page