Macron Says Ukraine Bid to EU May Take Decades

In a speech to the EU's parliament in Strasbourg, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that It could take decades for Ukraine to be accepted into the European Union.

Macron said that the bloc's current accession rules could cause the process to last several years or decades, in a speech calling for a change in the EU's structure.

He was addressing EU lawmakers about Kyiv's membership aspirations at a ceremony to mark the conclusion of a year-long citizens' forum on the bloc's future, called the "Conference on the Future of Europe."

The French president called on the EU to find "a new space for political cooperation" in security, energy, and transport with non-members, using Ukraine's accession bid as an example, in a proposal to relax EU rules for participation in the bloc.

He also backed a conference to discuss possible changes to treaties governing the EU.