Ukraine's EU bid may follow a new model, Reuters reports
Illustrative photo: Reuters learned the details of the new model for Ukraine's accession to the EU (GettyImages)
The European Commission is exploring potential ways to expedite Ukraine’s accession to the European Union as part of a possible peace agreement with Russia, but without granting the full scope of EU member state rights, reports Reuters.
According to the agency, this concerns the concept of reversed membership, which means Ukraine’s political accession to the EU, with the full set of rights to be granted gradually after transitional periods are completed.
The idea is at an early stage of discussion and is seen as a signal of support for Ukrainians after several years of full-scale war.
The 2027 date raises doubts among EU countries
According to Reuters, a 20-point peace plan discussed by the United States, Ukraine, and the European Union preliminarily mentioned the possibility of Ukraine joining the EU in 2027.
However, a number of EU member state governments consider any fixed date unrealistic. EU accession remains a process based on meeting criteria and harmonizing legislation with European standards.
In addition, joining the bloc requires ratification by the parliaments of all 27 EU countries.
Phased access to rights in the European Union
One EU official noted that Ukraine and other candidate countries could quickly join the European Union with subsequent phased access to voting rights, depending on fulfillment of the criteria for full membership.
According to him, current conditions require a review of traditional EU enlargement procedures.
Ukraine does not have much time
The article notes that EU accession negotiations usually take years. For example, Poland spent about 10 years on this process.
At the same time, the European Commission believes that, from a political standpoint, Ukraine does not have that much time, given the complexity of a possible peace agreement with Russia and how it would be perceived by Ukrainian society.
Officials suggest that even limited EU membership could contribute to stability and accelerate reforms.
The idea may not receive unanimous support
Reuters notes that membership with limited rights is not a new practice — most countries that joined the EU in 2004 and later had transitional periods.
However, the model currently being discussed involves significantly broader restrictions, which could complicate achieving unanimous support among member states.
This could also affect the position of other candidate countries, in particular Montenegro and Albania, which followed the traditional accession path.
Ukraine’s accession to the EU
At the beginning of November last year, the European Commission published a report as part of the EU Enlargement Package, in which it highly praised Ukraine’s progress in reforms, giving it one of the best assessments among candidate countries.
EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said that the European Commission is working to open negotiating clusters on Ukraine’s and Moldova’s accession to the EU by the end of November 2025. The only obstacle remains the position of pro-Russian Hungary, which is blocking the decision.
Despite this, Brussels expects negotiations at the level of working groups to continue even without unanimous support from all member states. Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka considers it realistic to complete accession negotiations as early as 2028.
Meanwhile, the United States has spoken about the possibility of Ukraine’s accelerated accession to the EU — no later than 2027 — although within the EU itself, such timelines are treated with restraint, with emphasis on the fact that everything depends on the pace of reforms.
