Accession of Ukraine to the European Union

For a broader perspective on relations between the European Union and Ukraine, see Ukraine–European Union relations.
See also: Russo-Ukrainian War

Accession of Ukraine to the European Union
StatusCandidate negotiating
Earliest possible entry2030[citation needed]
Application
European perspective18 April 2014[1]
Membership application28 February 2022
Candidate status23 June 2022
Screened & negotiations commence25 June 2024
Chapters open0
Chapters closed0
Memberships & Treaties
Association Agreement
Economic and monetary policy
Travel
Energy
Foreign and military policy
Human rights and international courts
International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Impact (27+1)
Population446,828,803480,261,258
Area4,233,262 km2
1,634,472 mi2		4,717,762 km2
1,867,534 mi2
HDI0.896
GDP (PPP)$25.399 trillion
GDP per capita (PPP)$56,928
GDP$17.818 trillion
GDP per capita$39,940
Gini30.0
Official Languages24Ukrainian
Increase 1

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",[2] and the presidents of eight EU states called for an accelerated accession process.[3] European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen stated that she supports Ukrainian accession, but that the process would take time.[2] On 10 March 2022, the Council of the European Union asked the commission for its opinion on the application.[4] On 8 April 2022, von der Leyen presented Zelenskyy with a legislative questionnaire,[5] which Ukraine responded to on 9 May.[6]

On 17 June 2022, the European Commission recommended that the European Council grant Ukraine candidate status for accession to the EU.[7][8] On 23 June 2022, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for the immediate granting of candidate status for EU membership to Ukraine.[9][10] On the same day, the European Council granted Ukraine the status of a candidate for accession to the EU.[11] 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.[12] Accession negotiations officially opened on 25 June 2024, at the same time as those with Moldova.[13][14] This signified another milestone in this country's ongoing efforts to align more closely with Western nations and diminish Russia's influence.[15]

  1. ^ Kirtzkhalia, Nana (18 April 2014). "Georgia can apply for EU membership if it complies with democratic principles". Trend News Agency. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b Treisman, Rachel (28 February 2022). "Ukraine wants to join the EU. Here's how that would work". NPR. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Presidents of 8 EU states call for immediate talks on Ukrainian membership". Reuters. 28 February 2022. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  4. ^ European Council (11 March 2022). "Statement of the heads of state or government, meeting in Versailles, on the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, 10 March 2022". Consilium (in Bulgarian, Spanish, Czech, Danish, German, Estonian, Greek, English, French, Irish, Croatian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Maltese, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Finnish, Swedish, and Russian). Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference DW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Dubenko, Lesia (10 May 2022). "Ukraine Completes EU Questionnaire on Europe's Day". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  7. ^ Rauhala, Emily; Suliman, Adela; Ariès, Quentin (17 June 2022). "Ukraine should get E.U. candidate status, European Commission recommends". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  8. ^ "European Commission recommends Ukraine be granted EU candidate status". Deutsche Welle. 17 June 2022. Archived from the original on 17 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Європарламент підтримав кандидатський статус для України і Молдови" [The European Parliament has supported candidate status for Ukraine and Moldova]. European Pravda (in Ukrainian). 23 June 2022. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Grant EU candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova without delay, MEPs demand". European Parliament. 23 June 2022. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Україна офіційно отримала статус кандидата на вступ в ЄС" [Ukraine has officially received the status of a candidate for EU membership]. European Pravda (in Ukrainian). 23 June 2022. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  12. ^ "EU Leaders Support Opening Accession Talks with Ukraine – Charles Michel". European Pravda. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  13. ^ "EU opens accession negotiations with Ukraine". European Union. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Ukraine and Moldova enter formal membership talks with the European Union". euronews.com. 25 June 2024.
  15. ^ "EU nations agree to start membership negotiations next week with Ukraine and Moldova". AP News. 21 June 2024.