On February 28th, Ukraine’s President, Prime Minister, and Speaker signed Ukraine’s official EU membership bid. There is a high chance that the application will be approved, with the process due to begin this month. 

To understand the realistic timeframe of Ukraine’s legal and cultural re-integration into the European family, read European Pravda editor Sergiy Sydorenko’s article Ukraine’s EU Membership: When and How the Union Will Review the Bid.

Putin has always wanted Ukraine to be neutral. By invading the country in 2014, he aimed, among other things, to block Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the EU. Moscow has never really attempted to conceal this desire, mentioning it in its ultimatums, including during the peace talks held on February 28th.

Since 2014, Ukraine has tried to convince its western partners that the best way to stop Putin is to give Ukraine what he does not want it to receive.

Because of the war, some European partners started to realize that it is indeed so. Given the support it currently enjoys, Ukraine has a good chance of completing its bid successfully. More so since the politicians can no longer oppose the accession: Their voters would simply not support this.

Yet, in order to not be disappointed, we need to realize that the accession will not happen overnight. A detailed and sound procedure exists for acceding to the EU. It is impossible to join the EU or the common market without aligning all the standards with EU’s Law. Otherwise, it will destroy the internal market. 

Accordingly, all the statements made by President Volodymyr Zelensky, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, and others, demanding that Ukraine accede to the EU immediately are a way of attracting attention. This behavior makes total sense: One must ask for as much as possible to receive as much as possible. 

The good news, however, is already in. The European Parliament voted Tuesday for granting Ukraine an official candidate status. The support was overwhelming with 637 in favor, 13 against, and 26 choosing to abstain. Although this decision does not have direct legal consequences, as the EP is not authorized to decide on any resolutions relating to the official accession to the EU (only EU member states are allowed to do so), it means a lot from a political perspective. 

The negotiation on accession, in particular its legal dimension, will commence already this month. On 24-25th Brussels will host an EU Summit. Ukraine’s President will likely attend, either physically (should the war end) or online to discuss Ukraine’s EU membership in detail.

Read more in Ukraine’s EU Membership: When and How the Union Will Review the Bid.