Ukraine is not ready to join the EU due to its being "Corrupt at all levels of society," Jean-Claude Juncker, the former European Commission president, said in unusually blunt statements to Germany's Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper this week.
"Anyone who has had anything to do with Ukraine knows that this is a country that is corrupt at all levels of society. Despite its efforts, it is not ready for accession; it needs massive internal reform processes," he said.
"You shouldn't make false promises to the people in Ukraine who are up to their necks in suffering," he explained.
Ukraine has long ranked as the most corrupt country in Europe and among the top in the world.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak, first deputy chairman of the parliament committee on finance, admitted that corruption is a major issue which has played a part in the withholding of external aid, also in the wake of successful GOP-led efforts in Congress to strip Ukraine defense aid out of the stopgap bill.
Given outside aid threatens to dry up at this point, Ukraine has said it is "Ambitiously" working to pass reforms.
"We have conducted these reforms initiated by Ukraine with the help and support from the US, EU and other friends," a government statement given to CNN this week said.
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