We shouldn't reject wish of Ukrainians to come close to EU – EU Commissioner-designate

11:25, 01.10.2014 1 min read

EU Commissioner-designate for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, has said that most Ukrainians have a clear desire to become a part of the European Union, but, on the other hand, he stressed that the country is still far away from this.

"Everybody could see, some of us gathering at the Maidan, that there is clear interest, a wish, of the majority of Ukrainians, to be close to the European Union," he said during hearings of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.

In view of this, Hahn said that was a rather realistic approach by President Poroshenko to propose that in next five-six years, until 2020, there are fifty-sixty necessary reforms that might be a baseline for a future application of the EU standards in Ukraine.

"But you are far away… But on the other hand, there is a clear wish, if you like desire, by the Ukrainian people to come close to EU, and we shouldn't reject it," he said.

Hahn previously served as the EU Commissioner for Regional Policy from 2009.