The head of European Union (EU) foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, said on Sunday that EU member states are not prepared to set a date for Ukraine's membership, despite Volodymyr Zelensky's request.
On Saturday, the Ukrainian president reiterated that he needs a date as part of the security guarantees for the final peace package with Russia.
"I feel that member states are not ready to set a specific date," Kallas said in a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference, adding that much work still needs to be done.
Ukraine's EU membership by 2027 was included in the 20-point peace plan negotiated by the United States, Ukraine, and the EU as a measure to ensure Ukraine's economic prosperity after the end of the war.
However, many governments of the Eurozone member states consider this deadline, or any other fixed deadline, to be completely unrealistic, as EU accession is a merit-based process that only moves forward if progress is made in aligning the country's laws with EU standards.
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics agreed with Kallas's comments, but expressed little hope for an imminent peace agreement. "Yes, we understand that we need Ukraine in the European Union, and yes, in talks with many heads of state, I feel that there is no readiness to accept the deadline," he explained.
Rinkevics also noted that the EU has always been creative when it was really needed and could probably find a solution that would suit the bloc, but at the same time it would have to appease the Balkan states and Moldova, which have been seeking membership for a long time.
Ukraine applied for EU membership a few days after Russia launched a large-scale invasion in February 2022.
(reuters)