WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's foreign minister says European Union membership could become more realistic for nations on the bloc's eastern periphery in the next decade if they become "a little bit like Norway or Switzerland."
Radek Sikorski spoke Thursday ahead of a summit on the Eastern Partnership, an initiative aimed at deepening EU integration with Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Sikorski said EU membership "at this point is distant" for the countries. But he urged them to adopt Western-style laws and democratic standards, saying that was their only hope for eventual membership.
He said, "if you become legally speaking and commercially speaking a little bit like Norway or Switzerland, then things become possible. Of course if you don’t, you won’t (join)."
