Ukraine to start EU membership talks, ushering in years of reforms while fighting Russia’s war

BRUSSELS -- Ukraine was due on Monday to officially begin European Union membership negotiations, launching a process that will require its government to commit to years of political reforms even as it continues to fight a Russian invasion.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka was to attend a so-called intergovernmental conference in Luxembourg, to open talks on a first group of policy areas that will help Kyiv align with EU laws, standards and values.

Ukraine sees EU membership as one “security guarantee” for a stable future once the war ends. Its best guarantee would be NATO membership, but the Trump administration insists that cannot happen, and others are wary of it joining while fighting continues.

Moldova was also due to officially launch its membership talks. Russia has long tried to keep the country within its orbit, and was last year accused of waging a major disinformation campaign driven by artificial intelligence during the elections.

EU values and principles first up

Countries hoping to join the EU must complete negotiations in 35 policy areas, or chapters, from agriculture to taxation and energy to trade, a process which can take years.

Monday’s meeting was to open five key chapters — grouped together as “clusters” — that underpin the values and principles on which the bloc was founded, notably the rule of law, fundamental rights and the functioning of democratic institutions.

The chapters are judiciary and fundamental rights, justice, freedom and security, public procurement, statistics and financial control. This cluster is important for some EU countries that worry about Ukraine’s ability and willingness to fight corruption.

Last month, two national agencies fighting corruption named Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's former chief of staff as an official suspect in a major graft investigation, but they said the Ukrainian leader was not under suspicion in the case.

For some, the quicker the better

The talks come at a time when some European countries have been pushing to get Ukraine inside the bloc as quickly as possible. They see Ukraine as vital to Europe's security, and have helped bolster its military.

Last month, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged his EU partners to consider offering Ukraine “associate membership” to help breathe new life into talks aimed at ending more than four years of war with Russia.

Other countries — France and the Netherlands among them — have suggested work-arounds to bring Ukraine into the fold more quickly but without the rights of full membership.

But EU officials, and other countries waiting in line to join the bloc, insist that it should be a merits-based process that leads to nothing less than full membership.

Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said that completing the full reform process is vital, and that membership is not simply about securing a “club card for the EU.”

What Ukrainians “truly are after is freedom, democracy and a transparent market economy without any corruption,” she told reporters in Luxembourg ahead of the ceremony.

Fears of another Hungary

Ukraine’s accession process was long stymied by Hungary, under stridently nationalist former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was considered Russia’s strongest ally in Europe and possible threat to the EU project.

Orbán routinely exploited voting rules that require all 27 member countries to agree on certain rules, sanctions and even political statements. Indeed, unanimous agreement is required for each negotiating chapter to be opened, and then again for it to be closed.

The European Commission froze billions of euros in funds for Hungary in response to democratic backsliding led by Orbán, and concern lingers about the damage that can be done when one unhappy government insists on wielding its veto.

“We need to be very cautious in the future and make sure that these are countries that really want to be a part of Europe, and a part of the European Union, and are willing to work with us,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said.

“In order for the EU to be really strong, we need to make sure that this doesn’t happen again,” she said.