Lithuanian President: Ukraine should join the EU by 2030

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has proposed setting Jan. 1, 2030, as the date for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. 

He made this call during a plenary session of the Support Ukraine forum in Kyiv on Feb. 24, as reported by European Pravda.

“The security of Europe depends on the security of Ukraine. That is why I want to accelerate Ukraine’s accession to the EU,” Nausėda said.

He further stated that the EU should take on a more responsible leadership role without delay.

“Let’s make Ukraine’s path to the EU inevitable,” the Lithuanian president said, proposing that the opening of the first cluster of negotiations could take place in the coming weeks.

Ukraine received EU candidacy status in 2022 and talks between the two entities commenced in June 2024 for accession to the 27-member state political and economic union. 

Meanwhile, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos expressed her belief that the executive branch of the EU, European Commission, should complete Ukraine’s accession process within four to five years.

“If the decision were in my hands – unfortunately, it’s not – I would bring Ukraine into the EU tomorrow,” Kos said during the joint visit of EU commissioners to the 20th annual Yalta European Strategy conference that was held in Kyiv on Feb. 24.

Kos also said that responsibility for implementing reforms in terms of EU expansion lies both with Kyiv and Brussels, particularly the European Commission.

“If we fail to bring Ukraine into the EU during this Commission’s mandate [by 2029], it will mean that we have not done our job properly,” she said.

In February, Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna said that Hungary had blocked Ukraine’s EU accession process, demanding additional conditions for Ukraine’s membership.