Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has said that the republic faces serious problems in accommodating Ukrainian refugees from other countries as well. He said this at the summit of the European Political Community in the Spanish city of Granada.
“We are experiencing serious difficulties in accommodating new refugees. Over the last two years we have accepted more than 100,000 people from Ukraine and from other countries, so I don’t think we are in a position to continue accepting refugees voluntarily until the issue of their accommodation is resolved. I believe that our position will be understood. We are not saying that we will turn back people coming into Ireland, of course we won’t do that, but voluntarily accepting more people [from other countries in Europe] is a different matter,” Varadkar said.
The prime minister claims that Dublin is in favour of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. He also emphasised that he supports this policy in relation to Moldova and the Western Balkan countries.
“In the long term, enlargement always benefits Europe by providing security and helping democracy and human rights to take root. It also provides growth for the European economy, so it is important to see this as more than just a financial issue. If Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans join the European Union, they will become richer and in time, like Ireland, will be able to start contributing to the common budget,” the politician said.
The statesman claims that it could take “more than 10 or 15 years” from the start of negotiations to the actual accession to the European Union. According to him, the EU budget and its structure could change a lot by then.
“So I hope we will not now replicate these kinds of fears,” Varadkar summarised.