Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that his country is aiming to join the European Union in 2027.
Posting on X after a phone conversation with the Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, Zelenskyy said EU membership could be a part of a range of international security guarantees after ending the war.
"Ukraine’s accession to the European Union is one of the key security guarantees not only for us, but also for all of Europe," Zelenskyy said, adding that Ukraine contributes to Europe’s collective strength in the fields of security, technology, and economy.
"That is why we are speaking about a concrete date, 2027, and we count on partners’ support for our position."
Two days ago, speaking at a press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, Zelenskyy said Ukraine will be technically ready to join the EU in 2027 after opening all negotiating clusters this year.
Ukraine received candidate status in 2022 after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, and accession talks officially started in 2024.
But Hungary is blocking the opening of negotiating chapters, saying Ukraine's accession would come with security threats and economic risk.
Balázs Orbán, political adviser to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, condemned Zelenskyy's aspirations in a post on X.
"This poses an immediate and direct threat to Europeans and Hungarians alike, which is why the patriotic government will resist it," he wrote.
For the moment, the European Union is providing technical help to Kyiv to be able to close the cluster when the political objection is lifted.
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 (of whether) we should see EU enlargement slightly differently: What we have now is, if all the work is done, and there is a yes or no decision at the end of the process," the official said, adding that member states are discussing a fresh approach.
"Is it an option to go more to a process where, in a certain sense, you already partly entered the EU while you were still working on further integration?"
The official told Euronews that in 2025, despite Hungary's veto, Ukraine made tremendous progress and completed the fastest-ever screening process of any EU applicant, while Kyiv is recieving increased support from Brussels to complete accession files.
"We do whatever we can to support Ukraine in all the reforms and provide all the information, progress to the Council that is in a position to make informed decisions," the EU official said, adding that Ukraine is fighting a war, negotiating a peace deal, and preparing for EU accession at the same time.
