Bogdan Frolov16:21, 12.12.25

The US guarantees that Hungary’s veto will be lifted and that Brussels will change the admission rules.

Ukraine could join the European Union by January 1, 2027, under a fast-track plan being discussed in US-brokered peace talks. This step would require a rewrite of the bloc’s accession procedures.

This step is outlined in the latest draft of a peace proposal being negotiated by American and Ukrainian officials with the support of Brussels, the Financial Times reports , citing people familiar with the document’s contents.

How Ukraine’s accession to the EU could happen as early as next year

It is reported that such a tight deadline—given that Kyiv has not yet formally completed any of the grueling 36 chapters of its accession negotiations—will upend the bloc’s merit-based approach and force Brussels to rethink the entire process. The publication’s source cites the possibility of introducing a system of phased access to EU funds, voting rights, and benefits such as the Common Agricultural Policy.

Officials who support Ukraine’s membership note that including this clause in the peace agreement would make Kyiv’s accession a fait accompli, as Brussels would feel it could not derail the peace process by opposing the accelerated timetable.

US support would also mean that US President Donald Trump would be able to order Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has so far stalled Ukraine’s European integration process, to lift his veto and allow Kyiv to begin the political approval process.

The process continues

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv that he and his team of negotiators “have developed an approach to some points [of the peace plan] taking into account the fact that Ukraine will become a member of the European Union in the future.”

“The question of Ukraine’s future EU membership largely depends on the Europeans—and the Americans, too, in fact. Because if we agree on a deal that specifies when Ukraine will become an EU member, the Americans, as a party to this agreement, will do everything possible to ensure that our European path cannot be blocked by others in Europe over whom they have influence,” the Ukrainian leader said. 

Ukraine applied for EU membership shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and received candidate status four months later. Last month, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos announced that new member states could be placed on a “probationary period” for several years and expelled from the bloc if they experience democratic backsliding. This proposal is intended to allay concerns about the influence of new members.

(C)UNIAN 2025