Croatia’s prime minister said that Ukraine’s accession to the EU before the start of 2027 is unrealistic

Ukraine’s accession to the European Union before the beginning of 2027 is unrealistic. Such a scenario is not currently under consideration.

This was stated by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković ahead of the European Council meeting.

According to him, that is too short a timeframe, and it is unlikely to be achieved within those dates.

“No enlargement has ever happened so quickly that it could be completed in seven months. Not a single cluster has been opened so far, and it is already almost May. Full membership in such a short period is unlikely,” Plenković stressed.

He added that he does not want to speculate about specific dates, since Croatia, during its own path to the EU, had to postpone its expected accession date several times.

At the same time, however, the prime minister noted that Zagreb supports Kyiv’s European integration.

As a reminder, Germany and France have proposed granting Ukraine symbolic benefits instead of fast-tracked EU membership, without voting rights and without access to the bloc’s budget.