The question of Ukraine's gaining membership of the European Union remains theoretical at the current stage, Regions Party MP Leonid Kozhara has said.
"The question of Ukraine’s EU membership is purely theoretical. The financial crisis is raging in Europe, and it’s already obvious that the economies of EU member states are failing. We saw the European Union before crisis – a wealthy life and dynamic development – and after that. Today, the situation is the opposite," the party’s press service quoted him as saying.
Kozhara said that the results of the last summit of EU member states had confirmed that the European Union cannot exist in its present form any longer.
"Europe is in anticipation of reform, and it is clear that the EU will look completely different after the crisis. Probably, various groups will be formed there, which, in turn, will unite with each other in different ways," he said.
Kozhara said that the EU remained Ukraine’s second largest economic partner and that Ukraine, in turn, would continue "to walk the path of European integration and the implementation of respective standards in the social and economic spheres."
"We should have a pragmatic approach to accession to the EU, first and foremost, in terms of our foreign economic interests. In the end, we’ll see whether the EU is ready to accept Ukraine, and whether Ukraine itself is ready to join the European Union, only when our state obtains associated membership of the EU," the politician said.
