Which countries could join EU with Ukraine? Ukrainian official explains
Photo: Ukraine, along with other countries, may join the EU (Getty Images)
Provided that all necessary reforms are completed this year, Ukraine has a chance to join the European Union together with other candidate countries such as Iceland and Montenegro, said Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, Taras Kachka.
Responding to a question about whether Ukraine could join the EU together with other countries, Kachka noted that the final decision depends on European partners.
"That is rather a question for the Europeans. You mentioned Iceland, and thank you very much for that. In Munich, we discussed EU enlargement, and Iceland’s foreign minister was present. We talked about how Iceland shows that the only real solution for integration is joining the European Union, because Iceland is fully integrated into the EU’s internal market," he said.
According to Kachka, there are no issues with the rule of law in Iceland, but the country still needs to formally join the EU in order to strengthen political unity and address regional challenges, including those related to the Arctic.
"We want a treaty based on Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union, meaning a classic accession treaty. We are not considering any other formulas," the Deputy Prime Minister clarified.
He added that the timelines for other countries’ accession depend on their own progress.
"Whether someone joins earlier, I would focus on the fact that this is in our hands. I am confident that with the rapid completion of all reforms this year, we can be there together with Iceland, together with Montenegro, which is already starting negotiations on its accession treaty," Kachka explained.
The Deputy Prime Minister also recalled the so-called "group of four leaders"—Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, and Montenegro—which remains relevant in discussions about EU enlargement.
"But in this regard, we should simply talk about where we are, specifically where Ukraine stands and about our particular case," he emphasized.
In the same interview, Taras Kachka also spoke about how Ukraine plans to obtain a concrete date for its accession to the European Union.
He also explained how many laws the country needs to adopt to meet EU requirements and how individual EU member states assess Ukraine’s reform progress.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, some countries propose continuing to review Ukraine’s reforms and delaying accession by another 10–20 years.
In addition, Kachka commented on the United States’ position on Ukraine’s rapid accession to the EU.
Read the RBC-Ukraine interview with Taras Kachka to find out whether Ukraine has a chance to sign an EU accession treaty in 2027.
