Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has called for Ukraine's European Union membership negotiations to be launched in full without delay, setting out a clear ambition for Kyiv to join the bloc by 2030.
Nausėda made the remarks after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of an informal European Council summit in Cyprus. His office said he stressed that all accession negotiation chapters should be opened as soon as possible, and that full EU membership by 2030 must remain a firm strategic goal.
Ukraine applied for EU candidate status shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and was granted it that June – an unusually swift move that reflected the political mood across the bloc. Accession negotiations formally opened in 2024, but progress has been uneven.
Nausėda acknowledged that Ukraine is making significant progress on reforms and the strengthening of state institutions despite ongoing Russian military aggression, but urged Kyiv to press ahead with rule of law and anti-corruption measures – areas the EU regards as central to the accession process.
The two leaders also discussed defence cooperation, including joint projects in the defence industry with a particular focus on drone production – a sector that has assumed growing strategic importance since the outbreak of the war.
EU loan and sanctions
Their talks touched on a €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine, approved after Hungary and Slovakia dropped objections linked to oil supply disputes. Zelenskyy said he expects the funds to be disbursed in late May or early June.
Separately, the European Union on Thursday approved its 20th package of sanctions against Russia, targeting the so-called shadow fleet – the network of vessels used to circumvent existing restrictions on Russian oil exports – as well as the cryptocurrency sector. However, the package stopped short of a full ban on maritime services for Russian oil transport.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys criticised the outcome as both delayed and insufficient.
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