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President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ukraine's goal is to join the EU by 2027. Writing in 'X' after a phone call with Austrian Prime Minister Christian Stocker, Zelensky mentioned the timeline and sought support from EU members.
"Ukraine's membership in the European Union is one of the main security guarantees not only for us, but also for all of Europe. After all, the collective strength of Europe is possible, in particular, thanks to Ukraine's contributions to security, technology and the economy. That is why we are talking about a concrete date, the year 2027, and we count on the support of partners for our position," he wrote.
According to an EU official who spoke on condition of anonymity, Brussels is also rejecting the idea of 'gradual membership' to accelerate Ukraine's accession.
Two days ago, speaking at a press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine will be technically ready to join the EU in 2027, after opening all negotiating groups this year.
Ukraine received candidate status in 2022 after the start of a full-scale invasion by Russia, and accession talks officially began in 2024.
But Hungary is blocking the opening of negotiation chapters, saying that Ukraine's accession would be accompanied by security threats and economic risk.
Balázs Orbán, political advisor to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, condemned Zelensky's aspirations in a post on X.
"This poses an immediate and direct threat to both Europeans and Hungarians, which is why the patriotic government will resist it," he wrote.
For now, the European Union is providing technical assistance to Kiev to be able to close the cluster when political opposition is removed.
The EU considers gradual integration as an option
An EU official with knowledge of the accession process confirmed that so-called "gradual integration" is also on the table when it comes to Ukraine's membership.
“ There is a discussion (whether) we should look at EU enlargement a little differently: What we have now is whether all the work is done and there is a yes or no decision at the end of the process. Is it an opportunity to go more into a process where, in a way, you have already partially entered the EU while still working on further integration?” the official said, adding that member states are discussing a new approach.
The official told Euronews that in 2025, despite Hungary's veto, Ukraine made remarkable progress and completed the fastest review process of any EU applicant, while Kiev is receiving increasing support from Brussels to complete its accession dossiers.
"We do everything we can to support Ukraine in all reforms and to provide all information and progress to the Council which is able to make informed decisions ," the EU official said, adding that Ukraine is fighting a war, negotiating a peace agreement and preparing for EU membership at the same time./ TheGeopost
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