Politico: The European Union is developing a plan to grant partial membership to Ukraine as early as next year
- Author:
- Oleksandr Bulin
- Date:
The European Union is developing a plan that could grant Ukraine partial membership in the bloc as early as 2027 — this should be included in a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.
Politico reports this, citing five diplomats from different countries, three EU officials, and two Ukrainian officials.
The plan was unofficially called "reverse enlargement". That is, Ukraine would first get a seat at the EU table, and then carry out the reforms necessary for full membership.
From conversations with sources, Politico has identified five steps in the plan. Three of them relate to Hungary:
- The EU will "preemptively" promote the statement in Ukraine. Ukraine has already been provided with informal recommendations on three of the six negotiation clusters. The other three are planned to be provided at the EU Council meeting in March.
- Simplified membership in the reverse enlargement format: the more necessary reforms Ukraine carries out, the more rights and obligations of an EU member will be opened to it.
- Wait for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to step down. Hungary will hold parliamentary elections in April, with the ruling “Fidesz” party trailing the main opposition party “Tisza”.
- If Orban remains prime minister, “play the card” of the US President Donald Trump. Orban and Trump have repeatedly expressed their favoritism for each other. Given that EU accession is included in the draft 20-point peace plan between Russia and Ukraine, Trump may help his Hungarian partner to give in.
- If that doesn’t work, invoke Article 7 of the EU Treaty (Maastracht Treaty). It provides for the suspension of certain rights of EU member states if their actions seriously violate the values of the Union.
- The EU does not plan to take such steps before the April elections, as this could play into Orbán’s hands, but they are possible after April if he blocks Ukraine’s accession efforts.
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