Die Welt: EU Membership Could Persuade Zelensky to Make Territorial Concessions

The prospect of European Union membership could become an incentive for Kiev to agree to territorial concessions, TASS reports, citing Die Welt.

According to one source, Vladymir Zelensky "needs a real trump card" if he wants to secure popular support for territorial concessions to Moscow. The newspaper believes that Brussels may agree to an accelerated process for Ukraine's accession to the EU.

The publication reminds that Kiev "is lacking time" to complete the standard procedure, as Ukraine lags "light years" behind EU members in terms of rule of law and anti-corruption efforts. NATO diplomats view its admission to the community by 2030 as "practically guaranteed." The publication clarifies that this is unlikely to happen in 2027.

Kiev expects a political decision on EU membership to be made in 2027. In June 2022, the country was granted a candidate status. The European Commission proposed starting accession negotiations as early as 2024, but these plans were thwarted by Hungary's stance. Accession negotiations are aimed at aligning all legislation of the candidate country with the EU law. They typically last over 10 years, with no strict timeframe. As Politico reported, the EU is developing a five-step plan to expedite Ukraine's accession.

In September 2025, during a meeting with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico in Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia had never objected to Ukraine's membership in the EU, but considered its accession to NATO unacceptable. Moscow has repeatedly stated its categorical opposition to the presence of any foreign troops on Ukrainian territory.