EU Reportedly Shelves Fast-Track Plan for Ukraine’s Accession

The EU is reportedly shelving plans for Ukraine’s rapid accession amid strong behind-the-scenes protests from key states.

President Volodymyr Zelensky recently pushed for 2027 as a target for EU accession amid deteriorating peace talks, with NATO membership effectively blocked by US and Russian opposition, despite the alliance’s earlier promises of an “irreversible path.”

Politico, citing unnamed EU officials, said many states have discreetly opposed the quick accession proposals, with some saying that they welcome Ukraine’s membership bid, but not at the expense of easing existing protocols.

“False hopes”

While the EU had recently floated a five-step plan to bring Ukraine into the bloc before the country completes all accession reforms, Politico reported on Thursday that many EU diplomats have opposed the plan.

According to Politico, EU ambassadors have told Björn Seibert, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s chief of staff, that their countries will not back the Commission’s “reverse enlargement” proposal, effectively blocking Ukraine’s early accession plan.

“Reverse enlargement” would allow membership first, with other privileges granted gradually as progress is made. Politico reported that opposition to the plan had already been coordinated ahead of a Brussels dinner on Wednesday.

“It’s done. Reverse enlargement isn’t going anywhere,” one unnamed diplomat told Politico.

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“They have created false hopes,” another senior diplomat told Politico. “Now, we have to correct that and tell them: ‘Well, actually, this reverse enlargement is dead on arrival.’”

One diplomat told Politico that the countries support Ukraine’s accession – but only via “realistic” ways.

“We want to anchor Ukraine in the EU… but we cannot tear up our procedures and scrap the merit-based system,” the diplomat said. “The point is to find a realistic way forward.”

Nathalie Loiseau, a European lawmaker from the Renew Europe Group in the European Parliament, warned that rapid accession could spark “confusion among member states and disappointment in candidate countries.”

European officials have so far declined to commit to a firm timeline for Ukraine’s EU accession. Former European Council President Charles Michel had hinted at 2030 in 2024 – a target that EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova described at the time as “not unrealistic.”

However, with the new US administration taking office in 2025 and subsequent developments – including the transatlantic rift and the US war in Iran – it remains uncertain whether any pledges will hold, even if a concrete timeframe is eventually set.