Politico: European Commission is developing a system of benefits for candidate countries that could provide the benefits of membership even before accession

The European Commission is preparing a new system of benefits that will allow candidate countries to receive some of the benefits of EU membership even before official accession.

Politico writes about this, citing sources.

According to the interlocutors, this is a gradual integration. Depending on progress in reforms, candidate countries will be able to gain access to certain EU funding programs, more favorable trade conditions, partial access to the single market, and other European initiatives.

According to one official, the benefits will be granted individually, depending on how close the country has made its legislation to EU norms. At the same time, candidate countries will not have the right to vote and other political powers of member states.

The European Commission believes that this will help support candidate countries, even if their accession to the EU will take many more years. The initiative is seen as a way to maintain the interest of Ukraine, Moldova and other candidates in European integration without promises of quick accession.

According to Politico, the new scheme has a better chance of gaining support than previous proposals. France and Germany have already supported similar ideas, and the European Commission plans to bring the issue to EU leadersʼ discussion in the fall.

At the same time, Ukraine and Montenegro previously opposed the concept of "facilitated membership", emphasizing that it should not become an alternative to full accession to the European Union.

In addition, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Cos previously said that the agency is working on new rules that would allow it to react if new member states start to deviate from EU principles after accession. This should reassure the blocʼs states that fear that the European Union is expanding too quickly.

What are Ukraineʼs successes on its path to the EU?

Ukraine intensified cooperation with the EU in 2014, after the victory of the Revolution of Dignity. In the same year, the Verkhovna Rada and the European Parliament simultaneously approved the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.

It entered into full force on September 1, 2017. Ukraineʼs path to membership in the European Union and NATO was enshrined in the Constitution in February 2019.

On February 28, 2022, Ukraine applied for membership in the European Union. On June 17, the European Commission recommended granting Ukraine candidate status for EU membership and set out a number of conditions that the country must meet before starting negotiations on EU membership. On June 23, EU leaders gathered in Brussels for a summit, where they granted Ukraine candidate status.

At the end of 2023, the European Union allowed negotiations to begin. They were formally launched in 2024, but the process slowed down, in particular due to the position of then-Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who blocked the opening of negotiation clusters.

After the change of government in Hungary, the country lifted its 17-month veto on Ukraineʼs accession to the EU in June 2026. On June 15, the European Union opened the first negotiation cluster for Ukraine and Moldova. This decision was supported by all EU member states.

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