Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said the European Union should demand more reforms from aspiring countries, but argued that Ukraine was being given unrealistic expectations about joining the bloc.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said the European Union should demand more reforms from aspiring countries, but argued that Ukraine was being given unrealistic expectations about joining the bloc.

"What Ukraine is being promised is a lie," Rama said, adding that Kyiv would never be admitted to the EU's normal accession process under current criteria.

He said a more realistic approach would be to bring Ukraine "to the table now" and grant it full membership through a performance-based process.

Source: Die Welt