Insight
Ukraine’s EU accession process: Will Kyiv ever be “one of us”? by Ian Bond, 13 July 2026 Although the EU and Ukraine have opened accession negotiations, full membership is still far away. Ukraine and the EU must implement necessary reforms, while the EU must find a quicker way to respond to the geopolitical imperative of keeping Ukraine in its camp. Days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen proclaimed “Ukraine is one of us, and we want them in”. More than four years later, detailed accession negotiations have begun, but Ukraine is far from being ready for membership, and the EU is far from ready to let it in. Without watering down the requirements for full membership for Ukraine, the EU needs to come up with something better for Kyiv than the current offer for candidate countries. On June 15th 2026 Ukraine and the EU finally launched formal negotiations on the first of the six ‘clusters’ that make up the acquis communautaire – the body of EU laws and rules with which candidate countries must comply before they can join the Union. The ‘fundamentals cluster’ – always the first cluster to be addressed with candidate countries, and the last to be finalised – deals with the rule of law, democratic institutions and good governance. Opening it is an important step. Ukraine must still overcome many obstacles before joining the EU, however. Unrealistic expectations First, Kyiv must accept that the EU is not going to short-circuit the accession process for any country. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will have to give up the idea that Ukraine has already paid for EU membership in blood, and should receive it as soon as possible. The Commission and some memberstates are irritated that he continues to raise unrealistic expectations that Ukraine may be able to join the EU in 2027. Like any other candidate, Ukraine will have to show how it will comply with the acquis, or ask for transitional arrangements allowing it to delay full application of some rules temporarily. Zelenskyy CER INSIGHT: UKRAINE’S EU ACCESSION PROCESS: WILL KYIV EVER BE “ONE OF US”? 13 July 2026
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