Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia propose to introduce a sectoral integration mechanism in the European Union, which should accelerate the process of candidate countries approaching EU membership.
This is stated in a letter from five EU member states, which was made available to the Public.
The document notes that gradual integration into certain sectors of the EU single market could be an intermediate stage before full membership. This approach is proposed to be applied after the candidate country has achieved a sufficient level of compliance with EU legislation and ensured the stable implementation of the principles of the rule of law.
Among the areas that can be covered by sectoral integration are, in particular, “green corridors” to simplify border crossings, integration into energy and electricity markets, access to the single digital market, transport and logistics infrastructure, as well as participation in EU policies on industry and critical raw materials.
It also concerns expanding access to conformity assessment procedures for industrial products, the status of authorized economic operators, and increasing the mobility of young people.
The initiator countries call on the European Commission to develop concrete proposals for the implementation of sectoral integration, including mechanisms for assessing the readiness of candidate countries and preventive measures.
It is separately emphasized that gradual integration is proposed to be extended to other areas of EU policy, in particular to the Common Foreign and Security Policy, as well as institutional processes of gradual approximation to membership.
The initiative primarily concerns the Western Balkan countries, but in the future it may also be applied to Ukraine.
What is known about the issue of accelerated accession of Ukraine to the EU?
On January 27, Zelensky said that Ukraine hopes to become a member of the EU as early as 2027.
On January 28, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Ukraine will not be able to join the EU in the near future. According to him, the option of joining the bloc from January 1, 2027 is “out of the question” and “impossible.”
He noted that any country that wants to join the EU must first meet the Copenhagen criteria, a process that usually takes several years. At the same time, Merz stressed that Ukraine needs a perspective that will pave the way for accession in the long term.
On January 29, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Cos noted that many EU member states would like to see Ukraine as part of the bloc as early as 2027. According to her, despite the fact that the exact dates of accession are currently unknown, work on accelerating the country's European integration is actively underway.
On January 30, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine “will be ready” to join the EU with all negotiation clusters by the end of 2026.
Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Ihor Zhovkva stated on February 5 that Ukraine is counting on a political decision on membership in the European Union as early as 2027. According to him, this is the basis of future security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe.