In an unprecedented move, the European Commission will move Ukraine's membership process forward at a technical level despite Hungary blocking official talks on accession.

Under the new plan, technical progress means Kyiv will push ahead with reforms needed to meet the EU's eligibility criteriam, and EU staffers will assess Ukraine's progress in aligning with EU laws and standards in areas like judicial independence. This circumvents Budapest's veto on opening formal negotiations.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told DW she received "clear instructions" from ministers of European affairs at an informal meeting in Lviv earlier this week to advance Ukraine's bid.

"I'm very, very happy and encouraged to go even faster in this process," she told DW.

Unanimity still needed later

Hungary's backing will still be required for any final decisions on membership, with unanimous support from all current members required for any new countries to join the union.

"At some point, we will have to find unanimity," Kos acknowledged when pressed on the feasibility of the plan. "But for the time being, for the technical part, we can go on," she said on Friday.

"Ukraine doesn't need Hungary to do the reforms. It is a transformational process for the benefit of the whole country," she added.

The European Commission will use the same method for Ukraine's neighbor Moldova, whose membership bid has also been caught up in the EU internal deadlock.

 

2027 accession part of US peace plan?

Kos was careful not to commit to any timelines after media reported that EU accession as soon as 2027 is being considered as part of a US peace plan for Ukraine.

"I'm very happy that this peace plan speaks about EU accession of Ukraine. This is now the first draft. We will see what will come out at the end," Kos said.

When exactly that is remains to be seen, she continued. "It also depends on how quick Ukraine will be in the reforms. And it is also connected to what our member states will say, when we will be ready to accept Ukraine."

Combating corruption

The European Commission and Ukraine jointly drew up a plan for anti-graft reforms earlier this week, with combating corruption seen as a key challenge for Kyiv on its EU path.

Kos cited beefing up vetting for judges and boosting financial means and independence for Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies as possible areas for improvement. The European Commission's new membership plan for Kyiv comes hot on the heels of a corruption scandal in the country that grabbed international headlines.

"It is up to us how we evaluate when the corruption cases are erupting: Is this sign of a lot of corruption in the country, or a sign that anti-corruption institutions are working? I think it is a combination," Kos said.

Hungary says 'no'

Although Hungary gave a green light to Ukraine becoming an official candidate for EU membership back in 2022, Budapest has since blocked the next steps in Kyiv's membership bid.

Hungary's government held a non-binding referendum on Ukraine's EU accession, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban regularly cites the negative result of that poll when publicly opposing progress for Ukraine.

"Why should our people have to suffer the consequences of someone else's war? We feel for the Ukrainian people and recognize their hardships but we will not share a fate that is not ours," Orban wrote on social media platform X in October.

EU reforms also needed

Experts say the EU itself needs internal reforms if it wants to welcome Kyiv and other aspirant members. EU decision-making can often be slow and held up by individual member's vetoes. Adding more countries to the mix could make it even harder for the bloc to function.

"There are also a variety of political debates around — and, rather legitimate concerns, I would say — about the impact of Ukraine's potential accession on the EU's budget, on cohesion policy, also on its common agricultural policy," researcher Teona Lavrelashvili told DW earlier this week.

"So unless these concerns are addressed by Brussels, also institutionally, I think that the debates will persist — and not only Hungary, but also other member states, will not fully embrace Ukraine's EU accession," said Lavrelashvili, an analyst with the center-right Wilfried Martens Centre think tank in Brussels.

Kos said the European Commission would present an assessment on the EU's readiness to accommodate new members and "what needs to be done" in March.

Edited by: Cathrin Schaer