Estonian President on Ukraine-Moldova-Georgia: To be honest, none of them meets the membership criteria - all three countries have problems with justice
Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid believes that Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova may need 20 years of work to prepare for EU membership.
Kaljulaid spoke about the prospects of the Eastern Partnership countries to join NATO and the European Union in an interview with the Ukrainian edition of Европейская правда.
The president says she personally is in favor of EU enlargement, but it will take a long time.
"I would like the European Union to be more ambitious in the issue of enlargement. We need some kind of solutions for the Eastern Partnership countries - either we offer them full membership, or we create a new format for these three countries (Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova) that have ambitions. EU membership has a number of conditions. To be honest, none of your countries meet the membership criteria. You will probably need 20 years of work to achieve this readiness. All three countries have problems with justice", - said Kersti Kaljulaid.
According to her, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova are already integrating economically with the European Union.
"An intermediate stage may be needed on the path to European integration, which will help Ukraine, Moldova or Georgia. We are ready to help you with these changes, but you have to do the work and it is a difficult job", - said the Estonian President.
