FT: The European Union has named the main reasons for the delay in Ukraineʼs accession, but the bloc is thinking about a new approach to enlargement

EU countries want Ukraine to join the bloc, but they are concerned about the countryʼs level of corruption and the independence of the judiciary. This contradiction has forced the EU to consider a new approach to enlargement that will reflect current political realities.

This is reported by the Financial Times, citing a senior EU official who participated in negotiations with Kyiv.

According to an EU official, Ukraine’s position on accession by January 1, 2027, was “a cry for help”. He believes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky knew that this was impossible, but it was a signal that the usual accession agenda was not enough.

"You canʼt bring into the EU a country with a population of 40 million that ranks 104th on the global corruption list. That would make a mockery of the entire project. But you canʼt leave it to its own devices either. Everyone can see that Ukraine will need something from us to make [the long wait for full membership] easier," the senior European official believes.

He also notes that despite the expectations of the candidates, it remains unclear whether the EU itself is ready for the accession of new members. According to him, Ukraine has shown the most how unprepared the bloc is for this.

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, which 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 a change of government in Hungary, in June 2026 the country lifted its 17-month veto on Ukraine’s accession to the EU. On June 15, all 27 EU member states agreed to open the first cluster “Fundamentals”, which marked the beginning of the practical phase of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU. There are six clusters in total. Ukraine opened the sixth cluster in mid-July.

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