Brussels urged to rein in Ukraine’s ‘unrealistic’ EU hopes
▻https://www.ft.com/content/3275f83f-e765-4709-a5da-ec9b02fea237
“That gap [between promises and reality] has been growing for some time. And we are getting to the point where it’s too wide,” said a third EU diplomat. “They appear to believe that they can just become a member tomorrow. And that’s obviously not the case.”
[...] Michel and von der Leyen have also been prominent in calling for member states to explore ways to use the proceeds of Russian central bank assets frozen in European banks in the #reconstruction of Ukraine.
“Von der Leyen and Michel might be outcompeting each other on who can show themselves to be more pro-Ukrainian,” said one of the EU diplomats.
[...] But those calls to deploy the assets have been made despite big questions within the commission itself over how feasible such a route would be.