EU ambassadors reject fast-track Ukraine accession plan

Politics EU ambassadors reject fast-track Ukraine accession plan March 6, 2026 3:51 am • 2 min read by Sonya Bandouil EU ambassadors on March 5 pushed back against a proposal to fast-track Ukraine's entry into the European Union, rejecting a European Commission idea known as "reverse enlargement," Politico reported. The proposal would have allowed Ukraine to formally join the EU first and gradually receive full membership privileges afterward, in an effort to bring Kyiv into the bloc by 2027. But diplomats said EU member states firmly opposed the idea during a meeting of ambassadors. "It's done. Reverse enlargement isn’t going anywhere," one diplomat said, adding that the Commission will now have to reconsider the proposal. Become a member – go ad‑free Another senior diplomat criticized the idea for raising unrealistic expectations: "They have created false hopes. Now we have to correct that and tell them: actually, this reverse enlargement was dead on arrival," the diplomat said. Several member states insisted the EU should continue following its traditional accession framework rather than altering the process for Ukraine. "We want to anchor Ukraine in the EU, but we cannot tear up our procedures and scrap the merit-based system," another diplomat said. "The point is to find a realistic way forward," the diplomat added, referring to the need to balance political sensitivities among member states. According to Politico, EU leaders are expected to reaffirm the bloc's standard, merit-based accession process at the upcoming European Council meeting of March 19, 2026, effectively shelving the Commission's proposal. Become a member – go ad‑free Still, Marta Kos, the EU's enlargement commissioner, defended calls for new thinking about expansion. She argued that the current model was "designed for a stable, rules-based world that no longer exists." Ukraine has made EU membership a key element of its long-term security strategy and has raised the issue in discussions about ...