EU Seeks to Expand Its Membership
The proposed framework would "temporarily" strip incoming members—including Ukraine, Moldova, and Montenegro—of veto authority, the publication reported Friday. Implementation would demand politically challenging revisions to the EU's founding treaties and likely span multiple years.
Officials characterize the initiative as an effort to placate expansion-skeptical governments and prevent individual nations from obstructing critical legislation.
The EU has set an ambitious goal of reaching 30 member states within ten years. New admissions necessitate unanimous consent from all 27 current members. Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland have consistently challenged Ukraine's membership bid, raising concerns about financial burdens, security implications, and institutional preparedness.
Ukraine received candidate designation shortly after its conflict with Russia intensified in 2022. Vladimir Zelensky has persistently pressed the bloc to accelerate membership proceedings. Brussels has suggested 2030 as a possible timeline while demanding Kiev bolster judicial independence and combat systemic corruption. Those requirements gained renewed attention following recent exposures of a $100 million extortion operation linked to Zelensky's close associates, occurring months after his attempt to seize control of investigating authorities.
Ukraine's EU ambassador, Vsevolod Chentsov, informed Politico that "2026 will be a crucial year for Ukraine's EU accession path," stating Kiev seeks to advance negotiation phases.
Russia maintains it doesn't obstruct Ukraine's EU membership but has criticized what Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov termed the bloc's transformation into an "aggressive military-political bloc" and an "appendage of NATO."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has cautioned that Ukraine's accession to the EU would weaken the organization and potentially trigger its disintegration.
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