Financial Times: Peace deal guarantees Ukraine’s EU membership until 2027

According to Isna, Ukraine’s membership in the European Union will be considered until 2027, based on the plan that is being discussed in the peace talks with the mediation of the United States to end the war with Russia – a move that will rewrite the process of accepting new members of this union.

The Financial Times newspaper quoted informed sources who are familiar with the content of the Ukrainian peace initiative document and wrote: Joining the European Union by January 1, 2027 is stated in the latest draft of the Ukrainian peace plan, which is being negotiated by the American and Ukrainian officials with the support of Brussels.

Given that Kyiv has yet to formally complete even one of the 36 difficult steps to join the European Union, the fast-paced timeline will upset the bloc’s “merit-based” approach to admitting new members, the people said, and will force Brussels to rethink the entire process.

They pointed to the current system of phased access to EU funds, voting power and benefits such as the Common Agricultural Policy.

Officials in favor of Ukraine’s EU membership said that including the process as part of a peace deal would make Ukraine’s EU membership inevitable, as Brussels would feel it could not derail the peace process by opposing a quick timetable.

US support also means that US President Donald Trump can order Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has so far stalled Ukraine’s membership process, to lift his veto and allow Kiev to begin the political ratification process.

In this regard, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in Kiev last Thursday that he and his team of negotiators “have formed their attitude towards some points based on the fact that Ukraine will be a member of the European Union in the future.”

“The issue of Ukraine’s future membership in the European Union depends mainly on the Europeans and, in fact, on the Americans as well,” Zelenskiy said.

“If we sign an agreement that specifies when Ukraine will become a member of the European Union, the Americans as one of the parties to this agreement will do everything to ensure that our path in Europe is not blocked by those who have influence over them,” he added.

Ukraine applied for EU membership shortly after the Russian invasion in February 2022, and obtained official candidate status four months later.

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