BRUSSELS (AP) — Ambassadors from European Union member states gave their approval Friday to begin formal membership discussions with Ukraine starting next week, marking the official start of the process for the conflict-ravaged nation to potentially become part of the globe’s largest trade organization.
During a Brussels gathering, representatives from all 27 EU countries made the decision to formally commence negotiations with both Ukraine and Moldova on Monday in Luxembourg. Russia has similarly attempted to pull Moldova back under its influence.
For Ukraine, joining the EU represents a crucial “security guarantee” for establishing a stable future after its war with Russia concludes.
While NATO membership would provide Ukraine’s strongest protection, the Trump administration maintains this cannot occur. Additional opposition exists to membership while active combat continues. Russia firmly opposes NATO expansion and has pointed to potential NATO membership as justification for its comprehensive invasion launched in 2022, though it has not raised objections to EU membership for Kyiv.
Nations seeking EU membership must successfully negotiate through 35 different policy areas, known as chapters, covering everything from farming to commerce—a lengthy process that typically spans multiple years.
Monday’s intergovernmental conference will formally open essential chapters, organized into “clusters,” focusing on the core values and principles that form the foundation of the union.
“This is a recognition of the determination, courage and hard work shown by both countries in advancing reforms, even in the face of immense challenges,” EU Council President António Costa and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.
The leaders characterized this decision as “a strategic choice” that bolsters “peace, security and prosperity across our continent.” They also called it “a signal that the EU’s offer of peace, stability and opportunity is unmatchable.”
Ukraine submitted its formal EU membership application less than seven days following Russia’s invasion in February 2022. The EU commission has commended the nation for implementing reforms during wartime conditions, though significant worries about corruption and judicial system standards persist.
Last month, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged his EU partners to consider offering “associate membership” to Ukraine and breathe new life into talks aimed at ending more than four years of war with Russia.
Other countries – France and the Netherlands among them – have suggested work arounds to bring Ukraine into the fold more quickly but without the rights of full membership.
It all comes as the EU weighs whether to try to launch its own negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with U.S. mediated talks bogged down while America’s attention focuses on the Iran war.
Under Merz’s proposals, Ukraine would take part in EU meetings, but without voting rights, and would also have non-voting “associate members” of the bloc’s powerful executive branch, the European Commission, and the European Parliament.
All 27 EU members must agree before each policy chapter can be opened, and then again for it to be closed. Hungary, notably, has blocked the opening of negotiations, but the arrival of a new government in Budapest has softened that stance.
