Macron called for the creation of a new European community that will accept Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron. File photoPARIS, May 9. French President Emmanuel Macron called for the creation of a new «European political community» that could accept Ukraine into its ranks.Earlier, Macron said that the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU could take several years, even decades.» Let's be clear, the European Union cannot be the only means of structuring the European continent in the short term … It is necessary to create what I would call a «European political community». This new European organization would allow European, democratic nations to find a new place for political cooperation, security cooperation, energy cooperation,» Macron said, speaking at the closing of a conference on the future of Europe in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. According to him, such a structure is needed in order to receive countries such as Ukraine, which are waiting consideration of the application for accession to the EU. Head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen while visiting Kyiv in April, she handed over to Volodymyr Zelensky a questionnaire to start negotiations on joining the European Union. She stressed that the document being transferred is «the basis for discussions in the coming months.» Later, Zelensky said that he had handed over the completed first part of the questionnaire to the head of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine, Mati Maasikas. He added that Ukraine would soon send the second part of the answers to the EU. On February 28, Zelensky signed an application for Ukraine's accession to the European Union. The next day, the European Parliament supported a resolution granting Ukraine the status of a candidate country. Earlier, the EU Permanent Representatives agreed to instruct the European Commission to prepare an assessment of the applications of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova for EU membership. European Union