Reuters: European officials do not expect Ukraine to join the EU even in 10 years

Ukraine is unlikely to join the European Union even within the next 10 years — this is the conclusion reached by Gerald Knaus, chairman of the European Stability Initiative think tank and an expert on EU accession, citing his conversations with European officials.

He said this to Reuters.

“Travel around the countries and you will understand that in many of them politicians do not expect Ukraine to join even in 10 years,” Knaus said.

At the same time, according to him, any signal that the EU is not serious about Ukraine’s accession could demoralize the country, “which no one in Europe wants to see.”

The article notes that even in relatively simple cases, the negotiations and legal reforms required to meet EU political, democratic and economic standards take years. Ukraine, meanwhile, faces additional challenges: uncertainty over the outcome of the war, entrenched corruption and the country’s large size, which complicates the integration process.

One senior European diplomat confirmed to the agency that Ukraine’s accession to the EU is not a realistic prospect in the coming years.

Earlier, the European Commission officially stated that Ukraine is lagging behind Moldova on the path to EU accession because of corruption.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said that Ukraine would not be able to join the European Union in 2027, as President Volodymyr Zelensky demands. According to her, there will be no concessions for Kyiv on this issue.