Then let them in, some would say. After all, if Ukraine, or indeed Russia, had a well-established democracy and a functioning market economy, there would be no need to worry about it becoming a member. Geography won't do. Culture is equally tricky. Most EU leaders are understandably reluctant to define some sort of core European culture that goes beyond liberal democratic principles.
Religion is a particularly sensitive area.
But religion clearly plays some part in his thinking about European-ness. Later in the conversation, when discussing the claims of Armenia and Georgia to eventual membership, he points out that their people were Christians when the West Europeans were still pagans. For the moment, however, the question of EU membership for countries such as Armenia remains academic. It is a different matter for Turkey, whose application is already on the table. To date it has not been allowed to press ahead with negotiations because it is not yet deemed to have satisfied the political criteria for membership.