Ukraine could become a member of the European Union by 2030, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said in an interview during her recent visit to Vilnius.
“From the technical point of view, meaning the clean negotiation process I am responsible for, yes, it is doable,” Kos told BNS.
Lithuania has proposed that Ukraine join the EU on January 1, 2030. Brussels aims to approve official negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova this year, but Hungary is delaying consideration of Kyiv’s candidacy.
“The case of Hungary is interesting because this country has given the green light to give Ukraine a candidate status. And then it has changed its mind,” Kos said. “So on the one hand, we have to bring Ukraine to the end of the accession process. On the other hand, we have to talk to Hungary and to any other member states that would have concerns regarding the EU membership of Ukraine.”
Kos said Ukraine is making significant progress in negotiations despite ongoing military operations.
“What we are experiencing now, it’s unbelievable sometimes that a country fighting a war is at the same time negotiating, when we know exactly how difficult this is,” she said. “Even Sweden – until now the fastest country to join because it was the most developed – needed three years.”
The European commissioner highlighted 2027, when Lithuania will hold the rotating EU presidency, as a key year for EU expansion.
“If everything goes right in the technical part of the negotiations, at the end of 2026, we could finish negotiations with Montenegro. So your presidency would then be the one when we bring the accession treaty for Montenegro to the end,” Kos said. “Albania has announced – and we are supporting this in the Commission – that it wants to finish negotiations at the end of 2027. We will also be closing chapters for Albania. And I hope we will be closing a lot of chapters also for Ukraine and Moldova.”
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