Ukrainian PM: Accession has more benefits than costs for EU

Good morning from Brussels,

Ukraine’s future accession to the bloc will bring more benefits than costs, and EU member states should approve the next formal steps later this week, the country’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told Euractiv in an interview.

Asked by Alexandra Brzozowski about reports estimating the financial cost of Ukraine accession being between €110 – €136 billion to the EU seven-year budget, Shmyhal replied:

“We’ve seen the reports, but the Ukrainian market, the Ukrainian Defence Forces, the Ukrainian raw and critical materials and other sectors could bring much more in the sense of security and economic benefits”.

Read the full story here.

Meanwhile, in Berlin, Germany’s governing coalition is increasingly divided over the country’s Ukraine policy, writes Oliver Noyan.

In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said Russia will be asked to observe a ceasefire in Ukraine during the Paris Olympics as Russian President Vladimir Putin warns the West that a direct conflict between Russia and NATO would mean the planet was one step away from World War Three.

While Romania’s far-right AUR has topped the polls, the governing socialist-conservative coalition, Germany’s AfD, has lost ground to the radical-left Sahara Wagenknecht’s alliance, according to Europe Elect’s latest projections for Euractiv.

On the migration front, European leaders and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have struck a deal to curb migration from Egypt, with the EU bloc agreeing to provide €7.4 billion in aid until 2027 to help manage migrant flows and boost the economy – a move criticised across the political spectrum, especially in Italy.

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PARIS

French far-left party La France Insoumise (LFI) vowed to be the only party that can credibly secure “peace” amid a Europe of “warmongers” at its first EU election rally on Saturday. Read more.

France’s EDF faces uphill battle as Europe’s demand for nuclear reactors grows. EDF, the French state-owned energy giant faces criticism for rising costs and delays in its nuclear projects, its existing reactors have also been encountering problems. Euractiv looks at the implications of these challenges for EDF and the wider nuclear energy industry. Read more.

MADRID

Catalan socialist leader to seek ‘reconciliation’ with Madrid ahead of May elections. Former health minister and Catalan Socialist Party candidate Salvador Illa has vowed to usher in a new era of ‘hope’ for the Spanish region and help it overcome its troubled relations with Madrid if he is to be elected in the regional elections on 12 May, he announced on Saturday. Read more.

PRAGUE

A Polish court has come to the defence of Czech citizens by overturning the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Turów mine, a controversial Polish open-cast mine near the Czech border. Read more.

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WARSAW

Polish arms industry to receive funding for ammunition production, sparks criticism from opposition. The Polish arms industry will receive about €2 million for ammunition production under the European Commission’s decision, compared to €170 million for German companies, an issue the Polish opposition says the government needs to explain. Read more.

SOFIA

Bulgarian nuclear experts question economic viability of new nuclear project. Bulgarian nuclear experts are questioning the economic feasibility of the country’s plan to build two US nuclear reactors at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, raising questions on funding and whether the country has the means to purchase energy from these plants. Read more.

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PRISTINA

EU Commission chastises Kosovo, Serbia for lack of progress; says bloc integration ‘at risk’. The European Commission issued a statement ahead of the one year anniversary of the Ohrid agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, bemoaning both sides failing to implement their obligations, while Serbian President Aleksander Vucic doubled down on his opposition to Pristina joining the Council of Europe. Read more.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson]