EU must undergo reform before Ukraine can join bloc: French junior Europe minister

France’s junior minister for Europe asserted Monday that Ukraine will have to be included in the European family by undertaking fundamental reforms of the European Union as French President Emmanuel Macron made a bid for a “parallel European community."  

Clement Beaune, who holds the office of the secretary of state for European Affairs, told RTL news that in the years to come, “Ukraine will have to be brought into the European family and into the European political project." He added that the enlargement of the EU will require changing the current format of the regional bloc.

Highlighting the impending addition of new member countries from Eastern Europe, Beaune said there must be reforms.

“With 27 member states, it's already difficult (to manage the workings of the EU)...We cannot have an EU with more members without profoundly changing things...We will have to do things differently,” he said