Ukraine-EU Summit: Kyiv Cannot Be Only a “Rule Taker”; It Must Also Be a “Rule Maker”

While no precise date for accession was given, there was an explicit commitment from both Brussels and Kyiv.

6 February 2023

Michał Matlak

Marcin Król Fellow

EU leaders met with Ukrainian government representatives in Kyiv on Thursday and Friday in a summit to discuss the future of their cooperation one year after the beginning of full-scale Russian aggression.

The positives coming out of the summit stemmed from a critical understanding: The Russian invasion has changed Europe: the EU understands its strategic role, and the transatlantic bond was revived, which shut down discussions about NATO’s brain death.

Even if no official declarations have been made, mainly due to the Dutch opposition about the date of Ukraine’s accession to the EU (despite the Ukrainian Prime Minister’s hope that it would be 2026), it is clear that commitment from both sides is on the table. There will certainly be struggles within the EU, and some countries will try to slow down the pace, but it certainly won’t stop the process. The most important factor then will obviously be the war itself – if it stops, Ukraine will be on the road to quick accession.

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Michał Matlak

Marcin Król Fellow

Marcin Król fellow. Michał is the Managing editor of the Review of Democracy and policy advisor at the European Parliament. He holds a PhD from the European University Institute and was a visiting scholar at Princeton University, the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin and KU Leuven. Member of the Executive Board of the Democracy Seminar at the New School for Social Research in New York.

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