Accession of Ukraine to the European Union (EU) is on the agenda for future enlargement of the EU.
On 28 February 2022, four days after it was invaded by Russia, Ukraine applied for membership of the European Union (EU). Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested immediate admission under a "new special procedure", and the presidents of eight EU states called for an accelerated accession process. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen stated that she supports Ukrainian accession, but that the process would take time. On 10 March 2022, the Council of the European Union asked the commission for its opinion on the application. On 8 April 2022, von der Leyen presented Zelenskyy with a legislative questionnaire, which Ukraine responded to on 9 May.
On 17 June 2022, the European Commission recommended that the European Council grant Ukraine candidate status for accession to the EU. On 23 June 2022, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for the immediate granting of candidate status for EU membership to Ukraine. On the same day, the European Council granted Ukraine the status of a candidate for accession to the EU. It is one of nine current EU candidate countries, together with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey.
On 14 December 2023, the European Council decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine. Accession negotiations officially opened on 25 June 2024, at the same time as those with Moldova. This signified another milestone in this country's ongoing efforts to align more closely with Western nations and diminish Russia's influence. If Ukraine becomes a member of the EU, it will be another former Soviet country after Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which all joined the EU in 2004.
In June 2025, Hungary blocked the opening of EU accession talks. Ex-Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán says it would mean "integrating war" into the European Union. German chancellor Friedrich Merz cast doubt on the possibility of Ukraine joining the European Union by 2034. Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that Russia did not oppose Ukraine's membership in the EU, but opposed its membership in NATO. Nonetheless, a June 2026 report published by the EU and Ukraine found that Russia was carrying out foreign influence operations to erode support for Ukraine's accession into the union.
Chronology of relations
The European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement was signed in 2014 after a series of events that had stalled its ratification culminated in a revolution in Ukraine and overthrow of the then incumbent president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych. The Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with Ukraine came into force on 1 September 2017 after being provisionally applied since 1 January 2016, and the Association Agreement fully came into force on 1 September 2017. On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, leading to the membership application.
TimelineDateEvent 1991 Declaration of the European Union on Ukraine. 1992 The first Ukraine-EU summit. 1993 An agreement was signed between the European Communities and Ukraine on trade in textile products, the opening of a representative office of the Commission of the European Communities in Ukraine. 1994 The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. 1995 The first meeting of the Joint Committee Ukraine - EU, the establishment of the Representation of Ukraine to the European Communities. 1996 The European Union has recognized Ukraine's status as a country in transition. The Council of the European Union has adopted an action plan for Ukraine. 1997 An agreement on trade in steel products was signed between the European Coal and Steel Community and the Government of Ukraine. 1998 Entry into force of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, Ukraine has officially declared its desire to become an associate member of the EU, adopted a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "On the introduction of a mechanism for adapting Ukrainian legislation to European Union." 1999 The EU has reaffirmed its intention to facilitate Ukraine's accession to the World Trade Organization and the launch of a free trade area between Ukraine and the EU. 2005 The Council of the European Union has granted Ukraine the status of a market economy country, another summit. 5 March 2007 Negotiations have begun to conclude a new enhanced agreement to replace the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. 2008 Entry into force of visa facilitation and readmission agreements between Ukraine and the EU. 7 May 2009 Ukraine became a member of the EU's Eastern Partnership initiative 16 June 2009 During the meeting of the EU-Ukraine Cooperation Council, the "EU-Ukraine Association Agenda" was politically approved. 25 February 2010 The European Parliament has approved a resolution on the situation in Ukraine, which, in particular, recognizes Ukraine's right to join the European Union. The European Commission is also given a mandate to work on a "road map" for visa-free travel between Ukraine and EU countries. 2013 A joint statement was adopted at the Brussels summit stating that Ukraine is "determined to comply" with EU conditions so that the parties can sign the Association Agreement and the Free Trade Area. 21 November 2013 The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has decided to suspend the process of preparation for the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union, as a result of which mass demonstrations began across the country against the suspension of the European integration process — Euromaidan. On November 24, a mass protest took place in Kyiv, attended by more than a million people. 21 March 2014 The political part of the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement was signed in Brussels with the participation of Prime Minister Arsenii Yatseniuk. 27 June 2014 The fifth president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed the second (economic) part of the Association Agreement with the European Union. 16 September 2014 The European Parliament ratified the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union simultaneously with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (via a teleconference via Skype). 1 November 2014 The provisional application of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union has entered into force. 13 February 2017 The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified the Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the European Union on Ukraine's participation in the COSME program. 13 July 2017 The Ukraine-EU summit in Kyiv completed the ratification process of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union and the entry into force of the visa-free regime between Ukraine and the European Union. 9 July 2018 The 20th anniversary Ukraine-EU Summit took place. 12 October 2021 An agreement on the Common Aviation Area was signed at the Ukraine-EU summit in Kyiv. 28 February 2022 The sixth president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed an application for Ukraine's accession to the European Union under the "accelerated procedure". 1 March 2022 The European Parliament almost unanimously voted in favor of the resolution, which called on the European Union institutions to work to give Ukraine candidate status for membership in the European Union. 16 March 2022 NPC Ukrenergo, the system operator of the power grid of Ukraine, together with its European colleagues completed the integration with the Synchronous grid of Continental Europe and became part of ENTSO-E. 25 March 2022 During the informal summit of the European Union, Member States supported Ukraine's European aspirations and invited the European Commission to provide its conclusions on the application for EU membership. 8 April 2022 The President of the European Commission handed over a questionnaire to Ukraine to obtain candidate status. 17 April 2022 Ukraine responded to the first part of the questionnaire. 9 May 2022 Ukraine responded to the second and final part of the questionnaire. 17 June 2022 The European Commission recommended granting candidate status to Ukraine. 23 June 2022 The European Council granted Ukraine the status of a candidate for accession to the European Union. 8 November 2023 The European Commission recommended opening accession negotiations with Ukraine. 14 December 2023 The European Council has decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine. 25 January 2024 Start of screening 21 June 2024 The European Union has decided to start membership negotiations with Ukraine. 25 June 2024 Start of membership negotiations15 June 2026First 5 chapters (Fundamentals Cluster) open in the 2nd Intergovenmental Conference. Substantial negotiations start.
2002–2005
On 12 January 2002, the European Parliament noted that Ukraine may enter the EU in the future. In 2002, EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenther Verheugen said that "the European perspective for Ukraine does not necessarily mean membership in the next 10-20 years, although it is possible." To join the European Union, the applicant state must meet the political and economic conditions commonly known as the Copenhagen Criteria (adopted at the Copenhagen Summit in 1993), namely a democratic government that recognizes the rule of law and relevant freedoms and institutions. According to the Maastricht Treaty, each current Member State, as well as the European Parliament, must agree on any enlargement.
Obtaining the status of a full member of the EU as a strategic goal of Ukraine was first declared by president of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko immediately after his election in early 2005. On 13 January 2005, the European Parliament almost unanimously (467 in favor, 19 against) adopted a resolution on the European Parliament's intentions to converge with Ukraine on membership. The European Commission notes that, although a certain preparatory period has yet to pass, the admission of new members is not ruled out, to which President Yushchenko responded with his intention to apply for membership "in the near future."
Several influential EU leaders at the time expressed support for improving ties with Ukraine. In particular, Polish Foreign Minister Adam Rotfeld stated on 21 March 2005 that Poland would support Ukraine's European integration aspirations under any circumstances. In particular, he said: "At this stage, we should focus on concrete steps of cooperation instead of empty talks about pan-European cooperation." Three days later, a survey in the six largest EU countries showed the commitment of EU citizens to accept Ukraine as a full member in the future.
In October 2005, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said that "Ukraine's future is in the EU." However, on 9 October 2005, the European Commission, in a new version of the Development Strategy Paper, stated that the implementation of enlargement plans (Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republics) could block the accession of Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said the EU should avoid "too much enlargement", stressing that the current enlargement plan looks complete.
Although Ukrainian officials and political scientists mentioned several specific dates for possible membership, only Ukraine's European Neighborhood Policy has been officially proposed to Ukraine by the EU so far. The presidential administration has been critical of the proposed status of neighborhood relations.
2007–2014