Luxembourg's Foreign Minister to Zelenskyy on joining the EU in 2027: Do not give ultimatums

Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel reacted to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statement about Ukraine's accession to the EU in 2027 by questioning the realism of such a timeline. Instead, in a conversation with a correspondent of LIGA.net in Brussels, he proposed an interim model of integration with elements of "pseudo-Schengen" without full membership.

"I heard that President Zelensky said that Ukraine should become a member next year. I have repeatedly told him: don't give ultimatums – it's not in your interest," Bettel said .

According to him, the process of European integration has its own rules and criteria, and "you cannot apply them to some countries and not to others.".

"But I believe in new mechanisms. For example, Europe has the European Political Community. Why not make it more attractive – without all the obligations of 27 countries, but with 35-40 members, with economic advantages, roaming, a kind of "pseudo-Schengen," the minister suggested, noting that in this case, the candidate countries would not have to fulfill all the Copenhagen criteria.

But as long as the Copenhagen criteria are not met, we cannot say, "Come in to the family" with our eyes, ears and mouths shut, Bettel added .

Earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that there is no way Ukraine will be able to join the EU on January 1, 2027. According to him, any country seeking to join the bloc must first meet the Copenhagen criteria, a process that usually takes several years.

• In December 2025, Zelenskyy spoke about the possibility of Ukraine's accelerated accession to the EU, but emphasized that some members of block this for political reasons, not because of the implementation of certain reforms in Ukraine. In particular, these are Hungary .
• On January 25, 2026, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine will be fully ready to join the European Union in 2027, so it is important to specify the date of accession in the agreement on the end of the war to obtain clear security guarantees.
• On January 27, Zelenskyy again said that he hopes to join the EU in 2027.