Brussels – “The best thing is for Ukraine and Belarus to be members of the European Union.” With these precise words, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his desire to see relations between the two countries evolve after the end of the Russian invasion, alongside a Belarusian “free leadership.”
In an interview with the independent media outlet Dzerkalo, one month after his first bilateral meeting with the President of the Coordination Council of Belarus in exile, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Zelensky made it clear that EU membership “is the right thing” for both countries on many levels – including “economy, geopolitics, and independence.”
Recognising that – as was the case for Ukrainians – EU membership will be “Belarusians’ own choice,” the Ukrainian president acknowledged that he does not know whether they support it. He added, however, that “it is simply anti-European propaganda that has been working there for many years, spreading only one-sided narratives,” referring to the claims made by Alexander Lukashenko‘s regime about restrictions on business and development, rising prices, falling salaries, and the idea that “people would be beggars.”
The goal should be “peaceful relations” between the two neighbours, “when we respect each other’s sovereignty and missiles do not fly from one country to another.” For this to happen, the Russian war must end and Minsk must have a “free leadership” that finally grants freedom to its citizens and respects Kyiv’s independence. “I would very much like the war to end and for something to change in relations between our countries,” Zelensky concluded.
The state of EU-Belarus relations
After Lukashenko came to power in 1994, relations between Minsk and Brussels deteriorated, with the EU repeatedly condemning the anti-democratic and authoritarian practices of his government. Ties briefly improved in the late 2000s, and Belarus joined the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative in 2009.
However, its participation was suspended in 2021 following the disputed 2020 presidential election and the violent crackdown on protests and the democratic opposition, which also led to economic and political sanctions against Lukashenko’s regime. More extensive EU sanctions and a freeze in bilateral relations were imposed after Minsk supported the Russian war.
Minsk has never formally applied for EU membership, and relations between Minsk and Brussels are currently at their lowest level. However, the leader of the democratic forces in exile Tsikhanouskaya actively advocates a European future for her country. She consistently argues that the invasion of Ukraine and the regime of terror in Belarus are “inextricably linked” and in 2025 signed several memoranda of understanding with EU institutions aimed at deepening cooperation.
The state of EU-Ukraine relations
Just four days after the start of Russia’s war of aggression, on 28 February 2022, Ukraine submitted its application for EU membership. On 23 June 2022, the European Council endorsed the European Commission’s recommendation to grant Kyiv candidate status.
At the European Council meeting on 14 December 2023, EU leaders gave the green light to open accession negotiations. Following the Council’s approval of the negotiating frameworks, the first intergovernmental conference was held on 25 June 2024 in Luxembourg. As recognised in the 2025 Enlargement Package, the screening process has been successfully concluded and Kyiv is now ready to open all clusters.
With Hungary continuing to veto the start of Ukraine’s EU negotiations and Kyiv’s goal to complete them by the end of 2028, on 11 November the Danish presidency secured enough informal support among the member states in the Council to continue engaging with the candidate country at working level. The discussions – focused on monitoring progress in the implementation of the EU-related reforms – are taking place solely at a technical level, with no political decisions and no clusters of chapters formally opened or closed.
Once Cluster 1 – ‘Fundamentals’ – the first group of five negotiating chapters (out of 33), focusing on economic criteria, the functioning of democratic institutions, and public administration reform, is opened, the other groups of negotiating chapters can follow. The unanimous approval of all 27 EU member states in the Council is now the only step remaining.
