Ukraine conflict: How soon could Ukraine join the European Union?

Created: 06/16/2022, 22:26

By: Bettina Menzel

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a joint press conference with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine.

© picture alliance/dpa/AP |

Natacha Pisarenko

During his visit to Ukraine, Chancellor Scholz spoke out in favor of Ukraine's EU candidate status.

But how fast would EU accession actually be?

Kyiv - Ukraine applied for EU membership in March, shortly after the start of the Russian war of aggression on February 24.

During his visit to Kyiv on Thursday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), together with the heads of state and government from France, Italy and Romania, spoke out in favor of granting Ukraine the status of an EU accession candidate.

All four countries are in favor of "immediate candidate status" because Ukraine is part of the European family.

But how realistic is EU accession for the war-torn country and how long could it take?

Ukraine's accession to the EU: That speaks against it

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced her support for Ukraine's accession to the EU last Friday, but at the same time called for reforms in the country.

The main focus is on corruption in the country.

Only last September, the European Court of Auditors attested Ukraine's failure in the fight against "major corruption" and lamented cliques "between oligarchs, high-ranking officials, politicians, the judiciary and state-owned companies".

The EU countries Portugal, the Netherlands and Denmark are particularly critical of the country's accession to the EU.

In addition, southern countries such as Portugal may have to make financial cutbacks if Ukraine actually joins, since billions of euros in EU funding would be diverted to Ukraine.

There is also criticism within Germany.

"The debate about Ukraine's accession to the EU is a sham debate," said Dietmar Bartsch, leader of the Left parliamentary group, to the newspapers of the Funke media group.

"It is clear to everyone involved that the prerequisite for an accession process, in addition to domestic political reforms, is a prior and lasting peace process."

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EU accession of Ukraine: That speaks for itself

The most important argument for EU candidate status is currently supporting the country in the escalating Ukraine conflict and binding it to the EU.

Chancellor Scholz put it in a similar way.

After his trip to Ukraine, the chancellor was asked in an ARD interview to what extent EU candidate status would help Ukraine.

"This is about hope," the Chancellor replied, adding: "Europe is a good idea."

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In addition, NATO membership is currently out of the question.

As long as a country is in conflict, it cannot join the defensive alliance.

In addition, joining NATO plays a central role in the Ukraine war.

Vladimir Putin wants to prevent a so-called "Eastern expansion of NATO".

The path to the EU is therefore of crucial importance for Ukraine.

"The Ukrainian people have already made a huge contribution in defending common freedom and common values," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a speech to the European Parliament via video link in March.

EU Council President Charles Michel then described Selenskyj as an “expression of European values ​​incarnate”.

Germany and France respond to criticism from countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands with the argument that a decision on candidate status does not anticipate admission to the EU.

An example is Turkey, which has had the status of an EU accession candidate since 1999 but is still not a member.

In addition to Italy, Germany, Romania and France, there are other advocates: Poland and other Eastern European countries, for example, are also pushing for Ukraine to be admitted quickly. 

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his visit to Ukraine: Oleksij Tschernyschow (2nd from left), the special envoy of the Ukrainian President Zelenskyj for the prospect of EU membership, walks with Scholz past destroyed buildings in Irpin in the greater Kyiv area.

© picture alliance/dpa |

Kay Nietfeld

Ukraine: How long could EU accession take?

This Friday, the EU Commission intends to make a recommendation on how to deal with Ukraine's EU membership application.

It is considered certain that the authority is in favor of giving the country attacked by Russia the status of an EU accession candidate.

However, it was unclear until the very end whether there would be a recommendation without any restrictions.

The decision to officially nominate Kyiv as a candidate for accession would have to be taken unanimously by all member states.

With candidate status, Ukraine would still not be a member of the EU, because accession negotiations usually take many years.

Every EU country must meet the "Copenhagen Criteria", which include a functioning market economy, stable democracy and the rule of law.

The country must also have the ability to meet the obligations of EU membership - the so-called "acquis criterion".

There are numerous intermediate stages on the way to EU membership, and each step requires the unanimous approval of the 27 member states.

Turkey has been taking the longest so far: the country first applied for EU membership in 1987, had been an EU accession candidate since 1999 and officially began accession negotiations in 2005.

Turkey is still not a member of the EU.

Finland, on the other hand, went particularly quickly: just three years after the application was submitted, the country was a member of the EU.

Chancellor Scholz himself did not name a specific time horizon for Ukraine's EU membership.

No one can answer that seriously, said the Chancellor in an interview with the ZDF "heute journal" on Thursday.

It is a “path full of prerequisites” that can also take a long time.

"But it's worth it, that's the message."