OREANDA-NEWS The European Commission's approval of Ukraine's application for EU membership could have difficult consequences for the region. This was reported by journalist Silvia Amaro, who wrote an article in CNBC.

In her opinion, the European Commission's positive decision on Ukraine will be largely nominal and will become "only the beginning of a long and difficult path," but even as a fact of moral support of Kiev this step may be keenly perceived by other countries, which have been on the list of "candidates for candidates" for much longer.

The author of the article reminded that Austrian ministers Alexander Schallenberg and Caroline Edtstadler addressed EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell with a demand to pay equal attention to Ukraine and the Balkan states. In a letter to Borrell, the ministers said that the division of candidates into first and second class should not be allowed.

Amaro concluded that European politicians' special favoring of Ukraine potentially pushes other parts of the continent "closer to Russia.