Brussels, 26/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - The President of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Elmar Brok has reiterated his call to the European Commission and the Council to go beyond the action plan and neighbourhood policy when it comes to dealing with Ukraine. “The EU action plan (…) is not enough, but (…) the EU is not in a position at this stage to propose accession to Ukraine. We therefore need a special formula which would offer Ukraine and other countries an extended form of association, that is to say, a status less than accession but clearly more than a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement”. This would mean a solution which would afford a special economic union, “as envisaged by Jacques Delors”, for some candidate countries, said Mr Brok on Tuesday in his committee's exchange with the Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner (see above). The Commissioner said that the EU should be “pragmatic” with regard to Ukraine and use fully the “enormous potential” offered by the action plan. In Ms Ferrero-Waldner's view, it would be “a shame to reject the neighbourhood policy when it has only just got started!” The action plan states that, in accordance with the Treaty, any country can request accession if it fulfils the Copenhagen criteria (political and economic criteria). “But there is one criterion which must not be overlooked: the European Union's capacity for absorption”, said Ms Ferrero-Waldner.