Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has a big goal. He wants Ukraine to join the European Union (EU) by 2025.
Ukraine asked to join the EU in 2022 when Russia started a full-scale invasion. Since then, things have moved quickly. In just a few months, Ukraine was accepted as a candidate for EU membership. Negotiations officially started last June.
In January, President Zelensky visited Warsaw, where he met with Polish officials. Poland is currently leading the EU Council’s presidency. President Zelensky said that during Poland’s six-month term, two or three negotiation clusters will open in Ukraine. Later this year, when Denmark takes over, three more clusters are planned.
President Zelensky said, “We have an ambitious goal to open five to six clusters.” If all goes well, they could be opened by the end of 2025.
There are six negotiation clusters. Each one has several individual chapters that need to be discussed and agreed upon before a country can join the EU.
The European Union’s Commissioner for Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, said that if Ukraine successfully implements its reforms, it could join the EU by 2029.
For President Zelensky, joining the EU is just one part of securing Ukraine’s safety. He also wants to be part of NATO and receive more military aid from Western countries to protect against Russian aggression.