EU officials believe Ukraine’s reform efforts toward accession have lost momentum, - FT
Kyiv’s insistence on rapid accession to the European Union increasingly resembles a political tightrope stretched between European capitals. Volodymyr Zelenskyy insists on full membership without "intermediate stops," while partners propose a longer and more cautious path.
According to Censor.NET, citing "European Pravda, FT reports on this.
The EU leaders’ refusal to accelerate Ukraine’s accession process has sparked disappointment in Kyiv, and the Zelenskyy administration’s increasingly Eurosceptic rhetoric is undermining efforts to find a compromise, the publication writes.
The Franco-German proposal
In recent weeks, France and Germany have proposed a phased process under which Ukraine would receive "symbolic" benefits and gradual access to EU mechanisms in exchange for completing reform milestones. According to officials, this would mean that full membership would be at least ten years away.
Responding last week in Kyiv to journalists’ questions about the Franco-German proposal, Zelenskyy called on the EU to be fair and stated that Ukraine does not need symbolic membership.
Zelenskyy pushes for full EU membership
According to two senior Ukrainian officials, Zelenskyy has instructed his diplomats not to consider or even engage in any discussions with EU governments regarding such proposals, but to speak only of full EU membership. "We won’t even discuss it," one of the Ukrainian officials told the publication.
During an informal summit in Cyprus in April, several EU leaders tried to temper the Ukrainian president’s expectations, according to two people familiar with the negotiations. "He had to hear some hard truths. It won’t be as easy as he thinks," said an unnamed official.
However, Zelenskyy is determined to defend his maximalist position, Ukrainian senior officials say. One of them noted that Kyiv believes the EU "will eventually become more realistic" and move closer to the Ukrainian position.
Several EU diplomats have stated that they understand the pressure Zelenskyy is under after four years of war and understand his frustration. But they emphasize that the enlargement process must remain merit-based, and point out that with the end of direct military and financial support from the U.S. and a sense of alienation from the peace process, the EU is now Ukraine’s most important partner.
We're the only friends he has, so he'd probably be better off keeping his mouth shut," said an unnamed official.
EU diplomats and officials stated that the country’s reform efforts have lost momentum, particularly in the critical areas of the rule of law and anti-corruption measures. They also pointed to missed deadlines for implementing legislation that would allow Kyiv to gain broader access to EU markets for energy and industrial goods.
Kyiv is also resisting Brussels’ request to raise taxes on businesses as a condition for releasing part of a €90 billion loan, arguing that this would be a burden on the economy.
"Their domestic reforms have stalled. That’s bad, and everyone knows it," said an unnamed source.
