Poland Rejects Acceleration of Ukraine's EU Accession

Moscow (ANTARA) - Poland will not permit the acceleration of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Thursday (16/4). “The idea of accelerated membership has been discussed in the European Commission. It will not happen,” Sikorski told RMF FM radio station. Poland emphasises that Ukraine must meet all the necessary requirements to become an EU member. “We believe that Ukraine must meet all the requirements, just as we did,” Sikorski said. The European Union granted candidate status to Ukraine in June 2022, with a number of conditions to begin accession talks. In June 2025, the first intergovernmental conference between the EU and Ukraine was held in Luxembourg, marking the official start of membership negotiations. Candidate status and the start of negotiations do not guarantee EU membership. Turkey has been a candidate since 1999, North Macedonia since 2005, Montenegro since 2010, and Serbia since 2012. Croatia, the last country to join the EU, officially became a member in 2013 after a decade-long negotiation process.