EU Ambassador says that Ukraine can indeed join EU by 2030

EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová believes that the forecast that Ukraine could join the European Union by the end of the decade is realistic. 

The ambassador noted in an interview with European Pravda that Ukraine has "broken the matrix" with its initiative in seeking to join the EU, starting with an entry application filed in the first days of the full-scale war, and the relatively fast pace – compared to other candidate countries – may continue. 

"As I said several times in previous interviews, I think that the goal that President Michel mentioned of Ukraine joining the EU by the end of this decade is not unrealistic. I think it’s realistic," said Katarína Mathernová. 

In response to European Pravda's remark about 2030 as a possible deadline, she said she believed this could happen. 

"It’s not only the technical process of the negotiations which does take time. You also have to have the political ratification by all member states because accepting a new member is a change of the EU treaty. So, it has to be ratified in whichever format is required by each of the member states, and that always takes time. In the case of the 2004 enlargement, it took about a year and a half," the ambassador added. 

Mathernová also spoke about how the EU is preparing to support Ukraine during the cold season. 

The ambassador believes that Ukraine will face a difficult winter, but the situation will not be catastrophic. 

Watch the full interview with Katarína Maternova about winter preparations in Ukraine, funding for weapons, and the country's EU membership