Kaja Kallas, Prime Minister of Estonia, said that Ukraine will not receive "any shortcuts" on the way to the EU and must fulfil all the criteria for starting accession negotiations.

"We supported the expansion, and we told Ukraine and Moldova that you must fulfil the criteria 100%. There will be no shortcuts for you," Kallas said before the summit of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday, 29.

She added that if both countries meet all the criteria, it would be fair to start accession negotiations.

"But they will not have any shortcuts, just as we did not have them. Of course, these are complex reforms, but they need to be implemented," Kallas added.

Denmark also believes that the EU should not "lower the bar" to accelerate the accession of Ukraine and other candidate countries.

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised that Ukraine, for its part, will fulfil all the criteria of the European Commission necessary to open negotiations on joining the EU before the end of this year.