Portugal urges EU to begin making preparations for Ukraine's eventual membership

Portugal is advocating for Ukraine's entry into the European Union and is urging the EU to start preparing for this possibility, Bloomberg reports.

Portugal's foreign minister, Paulo Rangel, stated that the country is deeply engaged in the EU enlargement process during an interview at the Forum Ambrosetti, a conference taking place by Lake Como in northern Italy.

He also said that Ukraine's potential membership will require financial and institutional reforms that need to be addressed now.

Rangel has been a strong supporter of Ukraine, previously stating that the EU must stay committed to its policy that any discussions about ending the war in Ukraine should be led by the government in Kyiv.

"We will never abdicate from respecting the United Nations charter, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine," Portugal's Rangel said. "If we set the precedent that a state can use force to change internationally recognized borders, we will create conditions for multiplying conflicts globally."

‘Ukraine’s not asking for anything more than you already have,’ Zelensky says in Italy

Ukraine is grateful for air defenses provided by its partners, but they are still “not enough to secure our entire territory and repel every Russian attack,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his visit to Italy on Sept. 6.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek