Officials in Brussels dismiss ‘nonsense’ idea Ukraine could join EU by 1 January 2027 in latest US-led peace plan. What we know on day 1,389
Ukraine would join the European Union as early as January 2027 under the latest US plan to end the war with Russia, a senior source told Agence France-Presse on Friday. “It’s stated there but it’s a matter for negotiation, and the Americans support it,” the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. The complicated EU accession process usually takes years and requires a unanimous vote from all 27 members of the bloc. Some countries, most notably Hungary, have consistently voiced opposition to Ukraine joining.
The proposal was met with scepticism in Brussels, with diplomats and officials dismissing it as unrealistic. “2027, it’s tomorrow,” said an EU official referring to the normally long time it takes to get things done in Brussels. “As if the Americans are going to decide for us,” a European diplomat said. “It’s nonsense: there needs to be an appetite for enlargement that isn’t there.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Berlin on Monday for talks on bilateral relations and peace negotiations over the war. The Ukrainian president and Germany’s Friedrich Merz will be joined by “many European heads of state and government” and top representatives of the EU and Nato for further discussions, a German government statement said. US envoy Steve Witkoff will also meet Zelenskyy and European leaders in Berlin this weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing officials. Witkoff would meet with his counterparts from the UK, France and Germany on Sunday and Monday, the newspaper said.
