German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has ruled out Ukraine's accession to the European Union by 1 January 2027, reports the German news agency dpa.
"Accession on 1 January 2027, is out of the question. It's not possible," Merz said on 28 January after talks with his coalition partners in Berlin.
The chancellor explained that any country seeking EU membership must first meet the Copenhagen criteria—a process that typically takes several years. "We can slowly bring Ukraine closer to the European Union along the way," Merz said. "That is always possible, but such a rapid accession is simply not feasible."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had reiterated his demand for EU membership by 2027 just a day earlier. "Ukraine's accession to the European Union is one of the key security guarantees not only for us, but also for all of Europe," he wrote on X after a telephone conversation with Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker on 27 January.
Merz indicated that peace negotiations currently take priority over membership discussions. "We are in close contact with the US and Ukrainian delegations. We have also drafted the documents together, and it is good that direct talks are now being held between Ukraine and Russia," he said. "We are accompanying these talks with great support and the great hope that they will come to a conclusion as soon as possible."
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, also from Merz's party, offered a more forward-looking position during a question and answer session in the Bundestag on 28 January. "A lasting peace architecture in Europe requires that Ukraine has a fair chance of joining the European Union," Wadephul said. He added that "one of the key security guarantees that we can give Ukraine at this time, and in my view must give, is a realistic prospect of joining the European Union."
However, Wadephul did not specify a timeline for accession and had previously made clear regarding Western Balkan candidates that there would be no shortcuts for Kyiv.
Merz nonetheless emphasized that Ukraine needs a long-term perspective on EU membership. The chancellor stressed that gradual integration remains possible even as rapid accession proves unfeasible.
Ukraine, granted EU candidate status in 2022 with accession negotiations opened in 2024, reportedly aims to complete reforms and open all negotiation clusters by late 2026, targeting full membership readiness by 2027 despite hurdles like Hungary's veto and unmet Copenhagen criteria.
