Macron proposes political union for non-EU countries

France’s president warned Monday that decades could pass before Ukraine joins the European Union, and proposed a new political organization to bring together countries on the continent that share EU values but are not part of the bloc.

During a speech marking Europe Day in Strasbourg, France, Emmanuel Macron said that “we all know perfectly that the process of allowing (Ukraine) to join would take several years, in fact probably several decades.”

Macron spoke after the European Union’s executive arm, the European Commission, said it aims to deliver a first opinion in June on Ukraine’s request to become a member of the bloc.

Once candidate status is granted, the process of EU membership usually takes years and any single member-state can veto not only any final accession deal, but also the opening and closing of individual negotiation chapters.

The 27 EU nations have been fully united in backing Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion, adopting unprecedented economic sanctions against Moscow since the start of the war on Feb. 24. But leaders are divided on how fast Brussels could move to accept Ukraine as a member, and how swiftly the bloc could sever energy ties with Moscow.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that she discussed Monday with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy “EU support and Ukraine’s European pathway.”