No shortcut for Ukraine to EU accession: Scholz

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has reiterated his stance that Ukraine should not be able to benefit from any special rules to accelerate its accession to the European Union, reported dpa.

"The fact that there are no shortcuts on the way to the EU is also an imperative of fairness towards the six nations of the Western Balkans," Scholz said in parliament in Berlin on Thursday.

Ukraine officially applied for EU membership shortly after the Russian invasion began on February 24.

Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania have been EU accession candidates for many years.

The EU must follow through on the accession process for these countries, Scholz said, adding that "the Western Balkans belong in the European Union."

The EU Commission plans to make a recommendation on Ukraine's candidate status in June, and all member states must agree for the process to proceed.

Scholz said that Ukraine is also "part of our European family." But he said that the accession process was "not a matter of a few months or a few years."

"That's why we want to focus now on supporting Ukraine quickly and pragmatically" when it came to dealing with the consequences of the conflict, Scholz said.