Ukraine eyes a fast-track path to the EU with a peace-deal clause - FT
Illustrative photo: The EU will have to change its procedure for accepting new members (Getty Images)
If a peace agreement is reached and the war ends, Ukraine will join the European Union by January 1, 2027. This point is being discussed in negotiations involving the US and European countries, reports the Financial Times.
Ukraine's accession by January 1, 2027, is provided for in a draft peace proposal being discussed by officials from the US, Ukraine, and the European Union, informed sources told the media. Such a quick timeline, say the interlocutors, will simply turn the EU's entire approach to accepting new members upside down.
Ukraine has not yet officially completed even one of the 36 stages of EU accession. The bloc accepts new members only after they have completed these stages. The above-mentioned point of the peace agreement will force Brussels to completely revise the system.
Officials who support Ukraine's accession have noted that the inclusion of this clause in the peace agreement will make Kyiv's membership a fact as Brussels will risk disrupting the peace signing by opposing the fast track.
US President Donald Trump will be able to silence Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has so far been slowing down Ukraine's accession to the EU. Trump can simply order Orbán to lift his veto and not interfere with Ukraine's accession.
During talks with journalists, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine had formulated its approach to several points in the peace agreement, taking into account the fact that Ukraine would become a member of the EU.
"The issue of Ukraine’s future EU membership depends largely on the Europeans — and on the Americans too, in fact. If we agree a deal specifying when Ukraine becomes a member of the EU, the Americans, as a party to this agreement, will do everything so that our European path cannot be blocked by others in Europe over whom they have influence," he stressed.
On December 11, Ukraine and the European Union agreed on a new 10-point plan that will allow Kyiv to technically prepare for EU accession despite Hungary's veto on the official start of negotiations.
European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier told RBC-Ukraine that the timing of Ukraine's accession to the EU depends on the implementation of reforms. At the same time, the Ukrainian government has announced its intention to complete accession negotiations by the end of 2028.
