EU should not 'lower the bar' to take in Ukraine, says Denmark

But of course. In the same way that you don't make a test easier for the student that gets bullied.
The criteria and rules to enter the EU have been created through decades of small changes, ensuring that every element in our norms and values is covered. Skipping some of these steps will only result in further misalignment in the future, causing friction. Look for example at Hungary. I am not sure if they took this train of thought/direction recently or if their stance towards the EU was always like this, but if it is the latter, then the EU failed to judge that in the joining process.

My personal take on this is that the EU has already become too big. It used to be small at first, with countries that shared similar beliefs and culture. I think the EU today is way too polarized to be effective. Sure, it is now bigger on the world stage, making a larger fist for our policies. But has also become more difficult to draft policies, due to the cultural and economic differences of its members.

Excluding the "breadbasket of Europe" as the world is entering into a period of mass food scarcity is a profoundly shortsighted move.

I know it's been 80 years since WW2 but it seems a lot of people have forgotten the main reason for the creation of EU. The EU was created in order is to avoid wars in Europe. It might sound ridiculous to many, but Europe used to have A LOT of wars in the past.

Economic criteria, corruption, etc are all great metrics but in the end, it is about avoiding wars. And a Ukraine inside the EU means a safer EU, a safer Ukraine and even a safer Russia. Russia wont be able to go full removed and Ukraine would have to compromise and reach some peace agreement in order to join the EU.

Inclusivity is very important for the EU. Reminder that even Russia could join the EU but a country like Russia, which sees itself as a super power, wouldnt want to be the 5th-6th most important member of the EU(in economic terms).