Ukraine may join EU by 2030

Ursula von der Leyen on Monday opened the door to Ukraine joining the European Union before 2030—within her current term as European Commission president. According to her, welcoming Ukraine into the EU once its war with Russia is over could help deter Moscow from future aggression—which is more important than ever given the United States’ reluctance to allow Kyiv to join NATO or to provide soldiers for a postwar peacekeeping force.

As noted, accession to the EU comes with numerous legal and democratic hurdles, which Ukraine’s government has been racing to clear.

Speaking at a press conference at a summit hosted by Kyiv, von der Leyen praised Ukraine’s progress toward reaching EU norms. “I really appreciate the political will that is there. I would even say Ukraine’s merit-based process, if they continue at that speed and at that quality, perhaps they could be earlier than 2030,” said the EU executive branch’s leader. The summit was convened in light of security concerns following the U.S.’s abrupt foreign policy shift. In the past two weeks, President Donald Trump has begun talks on the future of Ukraine with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin—shutting Europe out of negotiations—and blamed Ukraine for starting the war Moscow launched in February 2022.