State of the Union: Rutte new NATO chief, EU accession talks with Ukraine

Hello and welcome to the State of the Union. I'm Stefan Grobe in Brussels. Mark Richter has made it. NATO finally appointed the outgoing Dutch Prime Minister as its next boss. This move became a formality after his only rival for the post, Romania's President Klaus Johannes, had quit the race having failed to gain traction. NATO leaders will officially welcome Ruther to their table at a summit in Washington in a little over a week. Once at the helm of the world's most powerful military organization, it is questionable whether the bike loving Ruther will still be able to give casual interviews to the local press. And the instability? And for Ukraine, the appointment of a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin was great news. After all, Ritter had described the so-called Russian peace plan as absolutely crazy. The peace proposal absolutely crazy. This is the language that Ukraine likes to hear. And there was more good news for Kiev. The week President Zelensky came to town, the EU formally opened talks on Ukraine's succession to the European Union. The development hailed historic. But the reality is it's going to be a long way with no end insight. None of the less, the outgoing Belgian EU presidency saw the talks as morale booster. We know that we have a lot of work ahead on us, but with unwavering determination we are confident Ukraine can make it. We will be supporting you on every step of the way. You are not alone, we are with you. Well, whether the incoming Hungarian EU presidency will support Ukraine is doubtful. Budapest has been blocking support for Ukraine whenever it could. Will that change? Joining me now is Tiona Lavrelashvili, political scientist at Catholic University in Leuven and a visiting fellow at the Wilfred Martin Center for European Studies. Welcome to the program. Thank you for having me. Hello, So the EU started the accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova just days before Hungary takes over the rotating Council presidency. Is this a coincidence? Well, I would argue that this is not a coincidence because we know that Hungary's priority is mainly on the Western Balkans, especially on Serbia. Therefore, I think that the EU leaders were, let's say, constructive and smart enough to to start the accession talks with Moldova and Ukraine before Hungary presidency. As the opening of negotiations is only a small step in a long journey towards membership, can Hungary still derail the process? Well, Stefan, I think you, you indeed noticed and remarked very well about the longevity of the steps. And when it comes to Hungary's role, well, we, we, we need to see the, the overall situation of of course, also we will need to observe who will take up the portfolio of enlargement. But I would say that yes, hunger, we still will have a certain tools to influence enlargement process in the upcoming months to come. Next to Hungary, there is another obstacle to enlargement and that is a certain Ukraine fatigue in some countries. How dangerous is that for Kiev? This is to certain extent dangerous in the long term. But in the short term, I would say that's the enlargement negotiate negotiations and opening and closing chapters that say bureaucratic and technical process will continue. And I think this is a huge opportunity for Ukraine, but also for Moldova, because this will give and grant this country's immense window of opportunity to for the rapprochement with the European Union. And of course, we know that expertise is missing. I think we should be clear in this respect, especially when it comes to environment, agriculture. And I think that's Brussels will need to also help a lot. This country's. Yeah, we all agree it's going to be a long process. When can we realistically expect to have Ukraine as an EU member state? This is a tricky question, and I think that we cannot have a deadline or time frame in this respect, because it depends on manufacturers. On the one hand, we have the political willingness of the European Union, and on the other hand, also the ball is in the hands and in the courtyard of Ukraine. It depends on the pace of reforms, but also on the security situation. I would say how this will evolve because we have not discussed, but one of the important, let's say hurdles and obstacles to EU integration enlargement as such also will be security considerations next to the budgetary considerations from the EU side. So challenges are there. Therefore, I would say that naming the concrete deadline is is tricky. But again, the most important thing is to benefit as much as possible from the process of enlargement, of negotiations itself and make the enlargement a transformative experience for Ukraine, but also for other enlargement countries. All right. Political scientist Tiona Lavrelashvili, thanks for coming on the show today. Thank you for having me. Before we go, let's talk about the extreme weather that we're seeing in these early summer days. While the southern half of Europe kept struggling with a sweltering heat wave, heavy rains and cool temperatures were the weather default mold in much of the north. In southeastern Switzerland, massive thunderstorms and rainfall caused severe flooding and triggered the landslide that killed several people. A key NS motorway towards Italy was submerged and destroyed. In the meantime, in towns and villages, the cleanup has begun. The waters of many rivers and streams have receded, but the situation remains tense. The damage assessment was ongoing. The repair of major roads will take at least three to four weeks, according to the authorities. So wherever you travel in Europe this summer, be careful. That's it for this edition. I'm Stefan Grober. Thank you for watching. Have an excellent week.