Romanian president says granting EU candidate status to Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, and Georgia is key to building a strong and lasting shield around all values

CNN

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis invited the European Union to grant Ukraine candidacy status, stressing “there is no time for hesitancy” while speaking alongside his Ukrainian, French, German and Italian counterparts during a historic visit to Kyiv on Thursday. 

“We are at a turning point in European history,” he said. 

“Extraordinary times call for an extraordinary strategic and visionary response. Granting EU candidate status to Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia at the European Council next week, is key in building a strong and lasting shield around all values,” he added.

“It is about our capacity to project security and stability in our neighborhood. There is no time left for hesitancy. Our partners need for us to step up our long-time support to help them build resilience and cope with a wide array of overlapping challenges, either conventional or hybrid,” he said.

Speaking alongside him, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also pledged their support for granting Ukraine candidate status to join the EU.