Although negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union begin on June 25, the main stage of work will take place no earlier than 2025, reports the Financial Times.
"EU officials expect substantive negotiations to start under the Polish presidency of the bloc that starts on January 1," the article says.
It is connected to Hungary's current EU presidency, which may complicate Ukraine's membership path. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has already delayed several decisions on Ukraine, including the start of negotiations on EU membership.
But he eventually gave in, saying that Budapest would have many more opportunities to veto the process in the future.
Ukraine's EU accession
Ukraine applied for EU membership shortly after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion on February 28, 2022.
In 2022, the European Council granted Ukraine candidate status for EU membership. Ukraine received candidate status amidst the war, making a historic step.
Ukraine's candidacy means that the country has launched a formal process of negotiations to join the EU. These negotiations are expected to be time-consuming and difficult. Ukraine needs to fulfill certain conditions to become a full-fledged member of the EU.
The country has made significant progress on its path to EU membership and in December 2023 received the green light from the EU to officially start negotiations. Kyiv continues to actively prepare for accession and is diligently doing its homework.
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, Olha Stefanishyna, said that Ukraine would have to fully align its legislation with EU requirements.