In this case, Ukrainian voters will have time to take part in the 2029 elections to the European Parliament.

Lithuanian politician and member of the European Parliament Andryus Kubilius said that if negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU begin this year, Ukraine could quite realistically become a member of the European Union in 2029. Then Ukrainians will also be able to take part in the elections to the European Parliament.

“The integration of Ukraine into the European Union brings not only economic benefits for both sides, but also brings considerable geopolitical changes throughout the European part of the continent. The start of negotiations will mean that new tools will appear: how to measure Ukraine’s progress, how to help Ukraine, in which places must make efforts for reforms. And if you look at our experience, the experience of Central Europe, it took three years for Lithuania to finish the negotiations, and four years for Poland,” he said on the air of the Espresso TV channel.

The Lithuanian politician noted that the start of negotiations on joining the bloc can give a countdown to when Ukraine can become a member of the EU.

“According to our calculations and what is written in various documents of the European Parliament, if negotiations begin this year, it is quite possible that negotiations and ratification of all documents will end by the end of this decade. That is, Ukraine can become a member of the EU, say, in 2029, and in in this case, Ukrainian voters will have time to take part in the 2029 elections to the European Parliament, this would also be an answer to the leaders of the EU countries, who are still skeptical or very cautious about the prospect of Ukraine becoming a member of the EU, if he could not concentrate his political will and allow the entire process of integration will last several decades,” Kubilius explained.

Accession of Ukraine to the EU: latest news

Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanyshyn said that Ukraine has already fulfilled 72% of the obligations stipulated in the Association Agreement with the European Union. She drew attention to the volume of work performed by all branches of the Ukrainian government after the state acquired the status of a candidate country for EU membership.

In addition, during the Ukraine-EU summit, which took place in Kyiv on February 3, 2023, an action plan was approved for the further integration of sectors of the Ukrainian economy into the common market of the European Union.

Earlier, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that Ukraine is now showing good progress in implementing the seven recommendations for preparing for joining the European Union.