War will not hinder Ukraine's accession to EU - European Commissioner

Despite the full-scale war, Ukraine has real prospects of joining the European Union, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos has said in an interview with Ukrinform. This was stated by European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos in an interview with Ukrinform.

At the same time, she emphasised the unprecedented situation: for the first time in history, the EU is negotiating membership with a state at war.

We are moving through wartime circumstances. And if the war continues - and I sincerely hope it does not - it will not stop Ukraine's accession to the EU," Kos said.

According to her, the European Commission plans to open all the negotiation clusters by the end of 2025. The first of them - "Fundamentals", which includes reforms in the fight against corruption, judicial system, public procurement and the rule of law - may be launched in the near future. It is also planned to complete the screening of Ukrainian legislation by autumn.

Kos stressed that Brussels was doing its best to speed up the process, as Ukraine had already fulfilled a significant part of the requirements.

Ukraine will become a member of the EU by 2030," she said.

Kos also expressed hope that this would happen before the end of her mandate in 2029.

The European Commissioner also pointed to Russia's active disinformation campaign against Ukraine, Moldova and the EU itself.

We have to counter Russian propaganda, which is aimed at destroying your EU aspirations," she added.

Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had already said that the European Commission was in favour of opening accession talks with Ukraine. European Parliament President Roberta Metzola also supported the launch of European integration talks with Ukraine as well as Moldova.