EU fast-tracks Ukraine membership application

Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Sweden, shares his perspective from Washington.

First question, what happened to Ukraine's application for EU membership?

Well, that's a process that takes a long time, but what was decided by the heads of state and government of the European Union yesterday was to send it immediately to the European Commission for its assessment. That's a process that normally takes some time, but the fact that it was done immediately is as strong a signal as you can get for a process that unavoidably takes a substantial amount of time.

Secondly, what can we do to support better Ukraine, militarily?

Well, there has been a question of fighter aircraft. That's a more complicated thing. I don't think the US is particularly keen on that because of the risk of escalation. And the key thing I would say is to have a very rapid supply of anti-tank weapons. That's been supplied by the US, by Sweden, by the UK and by others, and the more we can increase that supply, because they will use them, the more they will slow down and possibly stop the Russian advance. More complex weapons take time, require training, will not be effective immediately. Anti-tank weapons that's what's needed for peace in Europe.