“We all know that regardless of the opinion that the Commission will give and that the Council will appreciate in June, the accession process will always be very long, very difficult and very demanding”, said António Costa.

On the day that the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced her opinion on the possible accession of Ukraine to the EU for June, António Costa pointed out that this “will certainly be very long”.

“I don't want to be as pessimistic as [French] President Macron, who spoke in decades”, said the head of government, although recalling that Portugal's accession process “took nine years”.

For António Costa, “accession to the EU cannot be the only response for the organisation of Europe, nor can it be the only response in emergency situations like the one we see today in Ukraine”.