Ukraine hopes to complete its accession to the EU in 2027, says Kachka
Ukraine aims to conclude the negotiation process on accession to the European Union as quickly as possible and expects to join as early as 2027. At the same time, Kyiv does not plan to deviate from the key rules and methodology governing EU enlargement.
He is set to officially take office as head of the Mission of Ukraine to the European Union at the end of September.
According to Kachka, membership negotiations are only part of a much broader agenda. He called Ukraine’s accession to the EU one of the key elements of European security.
At the same time, the Ukrainian side believes that the current enlargement methodology can be applied quickly and flexibly enough without violating established procedures.
“The traditional EU enlargement methodology can be applied quickly and flexibly enough to achieve the goal of Ukraine’s integration into the EU as early as 2027, without violating any rules of this methodology or informal procedures,” Kachka emphasized.
Kachka noted that following the opening of the first negotiation clusters, the prospect of Ukraine’s EU membership has become a fully realistic goal for both Ukrainian government institutions and partners in the European Union.
In his view, Ukraine must demonstrate its ability to meet the necessary criteria significantly faster than has traditionally been the case during previous EU enlargement processes.
Taras Kachka pointed out that the EU enlargement process can traditionally take up to 15 years. This timeframe is linked to the need for adaptation by both the candidate countries and the European Union itself.
At the same time, Ukraine aims to prove that meeting all the established criteria and completing the necessary procedures can take place much more dynamically.
Thus, Kyiv views 2027 as a possible target date for completing integration into the EU, provided that all necessary stages are completed in accordance with EU enlargement rules.
Taras Kachka made this statement during a discussion at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels.
At the first meeting of the Council of the European Union’s Working Party on Enlargement (COELA) following the summer recess on September 1, the Hungarian delegation once again refused to approve the results of the screening of negotiation clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine.
Ukraine expects to open the remaining negotiation clusters for accession to the European Union by the end of 2026. Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi discussed progress on European integration with European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos and stated that the government, together with parliament, is working to accelerate the necessary reforms.
