Brussels – The goal of joining the European Union by 2027 has remained, but the details seem to have slightly changed. Ukraine’s accession path is still closely linked to the date set by President Volodymyr Zelensky and the draft peace plan for ending the Russian war. Yet, as the months pass, what once seemed an almost impossible mission is evolving into something more pragmatic, albeit still ambitious.
While 2027 is “essential for shaping accession in a way that is clear, precise and free of hesitation” from the EU’s perspective, “we need to establish a tentative calendar for what is feasible by then,” said Taras Kachka, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, during a policy briefing organised in Brussels by the European Policy Centre (EPC) on 21 April.
“If clusters are formally opened by May or June, some chapters could already be closed this year,” he added, outlining Kyiv’s ambitions for what it aims to deliver in 2026. The Accession Treaty “could then be drafted and signed in 2027,” before being ratified by all member states “over the following years.”
Having all the benchmarks communicated from Brussels through the informal opening of the accession clusters is considered a first step, that enabled the Ukrainian government to “immediately adopt” the national programme for the EU acquis. Deputy Prime Minister Kachka revealed that work with the Verkhovna Rada is ongoing “on how to close all the chapters,” and that this can be done “as early as this year for the vast majority” of them.
The expectations in Kyiv
Deputy Prime Minister Kachka conceded that setting a date for EU accession is perceived as “barbaric” by some member states, “but this does not mean that we will give up.” What is required from Kyiv is “a clear commitment” by the 27 EU capitals that accession negotiations “will not be endless.” According to him, a definite date is also necessary to mobilise all Ukrainian stakeholders, from institutional actors to the “whole of society and business.”
The immediate expectation is to formally open the clusters, as “it does not require any additional work” from the member states, the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration pointed out. “This is about political support, and it would represent encouragement.”
He also noted that the discussion on how to make Ukraine’s accession process faster “has already started, even though not in the most glamorous way,” in reference to a report by the Financial Times on Germany and France’s plans to grant symbolic benefits in a pre-accession phase that excludes EU farming subsidies and voting rights. “The debate is evolving,” Deputy Prime Minister Kachka added, stressing that “we have a lot in common” on how the accession process should be made “more efficient and not get stuck in all the nuances of the methodology.”
His words echoed those of Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos during the structured dialogue with the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) just one day earlier. “I was criticised when I said that it is impossible for Ukraine to join by 1 January 2027, but I can understand why President Zelensky said this.” She referred to the need for “reassurance” regarding the possibility of Ukraine becoming an EU member “if they do everything we ask of them.” However, given how the accession process works, “I cannot give them this assurance, even if we go through to the end,” she warned.
While agriculture, transport, and the environment loom large as the most thorny issues, the question of safeguards in the Accession Treaty does not worry Deputy Prime Minister Kachka. “There are safeguards throughout the EU,” he said, citing Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) – the procedure designed to uphold core rule-of-law principles – as well as the conditionality mechanism for financing member states. “The debate on safeguards is a daily reality, and this is not humiliating for us,” the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister added, provided that Ukraine is treated like any other current or potential member in the Commission’s annual assessment of respect for the rule of law.
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.
On 17 March 2026, technical guidance was provided to both Ukraine and Moldova to continue work on EU reforms across all six negotiating clusters, until political conditions allow the formal process to begin – meaning Hungary lifting its veto.
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.
