BRUSSELS — EU countries are preparing a package of short-term benefits for Ukraine to bring it closer to the bloc after capitals rejected plans to fast-track full membership.
The emerging offer would include greater market access and deeper participation in EU programs and institutions, four diplomats familiar with the discussions, granted anonymity to discuss the confidential negotiations, told POLITICO.
“Ukraine’s priority remains full EU membership,” Ukraine’s ambassador to the bloc, Vsevolod Chentsov, told POLITICO. “But we also expect early, tangible steps that bring integration into effect now.”
The proposals came together after a tense March dinner during which EU capitals rejected the European Commission’s “reverse enlargement” proposals that would have let Ukraine join before completing major reforms — searching instead for a tangible offer Kyiv can sell at home while it works on the reforms needed to secure full membership.
“From the moment of the dinner … member states have been clear it would be very difficult to see membership in the short term,” one of the diplomats said. “But we need to have a positive offer for how we can better move forward together before then.”
Pulling Kyiv closer
On the EU side, officials are looking at ways to plug Ukraine into parts of the bloc’s markets, funding schemes and political institutions before accession — a model the diplomat described as “accelerated gradual integration.”
Germany and France, both strong backers of Ukraine but wary of a rushed accession process, are among the countries involved in shaping the offer. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last week that immediate EU membership for Ukraine “is, of course, not possible,” but suggested Kyiv could be offered “participation in European Councils without voting rights,” as well as taking part in select formats with other institutions like the Parliament.
Another option being pushed by Ukraine’s allies is granting Kyiv a form of “acceding state” status to show that it is firmly on track to join the EU, according to Lithuanian proposal seen by POLITICO.
The designation has historically applied to countries that have signed an accession treaty and are waiting for it to be ratified. But the document argues that Ukraine’s case “shows its European path has reached a level of stability and direction that merits similar recognition.”
Kyiv, meanwhile, is pressing for more concrete economic help. Chentsov said Ukraine wants “phased access to the EU Single Market linked to progress on reforms, deeper participation in EU programs and institutions, and swift progress on agreements like ACAA to facilitate trade.”
An Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA) would allow the EU and Ukraine to recognize each other’s manufacturing standards, making it easier for industrial goods to move across the border without additional checks.
Ukraine is also asking for its businesses to be included in the Commission’s strategic industrial dialogues on sectors such as vehicle manufacturing, steel and chemicals, Chentsov said, “to better align our industries with EU value chains.”
Such steps, he added, would bring “immediate economic benefits” and strengthen investor confidence, while making Ukraine’s path toward the EU beneficial for both sides even before membership.
Road to EU membership
While there is political goodwill behind Ukraine’s accession bid, the timeline for actually joining the EU remains long — with no country having joined since Croatia in 2013. Brussels is working to speed up that timeline, with Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos warning that accession must be faster given “external destructive forces” are targeting candidate countries. She has, however, cautioned that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hopes of a 2027 entry are “impossible.”
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka told POLITICO last week that he expects formal negotiating “clusters” to open in the “coming weeks” after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s successor, Péter Magyar, takes office. Orbán’s election defeat earlier this month removed a major obstacle to progress for both Ukraine and Moldova, whose accession bid has been paired with Kyiv’s.
Still, a senior European Council official said Ukraine could only close negotiating chapters by the end of 2027 if it maintains its current pace of reforms. Any accession treaty would then need unanimous political backing from all 27 EU countries and force the bloc to confront unresolved fights over the terms of Ukraine’s membership.
Despite the push for short-term benefits, all three diplomats stressed that the package cannot become a substitute for the formal accession process.
“Getting back to [the] normal accession process, including the opening of all clusters both for Ukraine and Moldova without further delay is our top priority,” said a third EU diplomat.
Hans von der Burchard contributed reporting from Berlin.
