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BREAKING
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.
Sheikh Qassem: The government’s latest decision [on the disarmament of the Resistance] is non-charter-based, and if the government continues down this path, it is not faithful to Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Danish FM: Don't 'lower the bar' to help Ukraine join the EU

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 29 Jun 2023 15:20
  • 1 Shares
2 Min Read

Rasmussen says his country supported the EU membership for Ukraine but argues that "geopolitical circumstances" were not a justification for governance reforms.

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  • Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen arrives for an EU summit at the Europa building in Brussels on October 18, 2018. (AP)
    Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen arrives for an EU summit at the Europa building in Brussels on October 18, 2018 (AP)

Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen warned during an interview with the Financial Times that the European Union would be "importing instability" if its standards are eased to hasten the accession of Ukraine to the bloc. 

Rasmussen stated that his country supported the EU membership for Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and the western Balkans but argued that "geopolitical circumstances" were not a justification for governance reforms.

"If you don’t complete the reform process before you enter, then there could be a risk of slowing down afterwards. And we do not export stability, we risk importing instability. And that’s why it is so important to stress the need of fulfilling the [EU membership] criteria," he indicated.

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Rasmussen claimed that Denmark was open to internal EU reform, which includes more majority voting, to accommodate new member states.

He claimed that he does "not intend to comment on specific countries," but said it was "much easier to complete reforms when you are heading towards a membership than it is if you have already joined."

On the matter of Ukraine, he said that if there were to be any "special treatment", it should be in the form of extra help with full engagement of EU governments to help it meet the standards. The flaw in the past process is that it was too bureaucratic, he pointed out.

"We want to invest and we want to assist and we want to be as positive and help some as possible, but we can’t lower the bar."

Ukraine applied for EU membership on February 28, shortly after Russia launched its military operation. It was followed by Georgia and Moldova, which decided to fast-track the submission of their applications and similarly received the EU questionnaire in mid-April. 
 
During the EU delegation's visit to Kiev on April 8, European Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen handed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a questionnaire to begin Ukraine's accession process.

Von der Leyen emphasized that this questionnaire would lay the groundwork for further discussion on the country's membership.

  • Lars Lokke Rasmussen
  • Russia
  • Denmark
  • EU
  • Kiev
  • Ukraine
  • European Union
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