Ukraine’s EU accession prospects are fading, MP warns

Volodymyr Ariev, Ukrainian MP and part of the Verkhovna Rada’s delegation to the EU-Eastern Neighbors Parliamentary Assembly, said this in an interview with Yuriy Fizer on Espreso TV’s European Space program. 

“A favorable moment for pushing our agenda inside the European Union is literally melting away. We are truly running out of time — catastrophically so, as from the massive support in 2022 we have now reached a situation where it’s certain Ukraine will not join NATO. Conversations are also beginning that Ukraine will not be accepted into the EU. These narratives are actively spreading in Hungary, Slovakia, and unfortunately, they are starting to appear in Poland as well. We are facing a situation where time is literally slipping through our fingers like sand,” Ariev emphasized.

According to the MP, Ukraine needed to work more actively in partner countries to counter Russian propaganda. “In essence, we lost this hybrid information war due to non-participation. Instead of spending resources to counter Russian information attacks that would influence public opinion in partner countries, we directed funds to self-promotion of the government via telethons — which proved completely ineffective.”

Ariev also pointed out diplomatic mistakes. “In particular, I believe the policy toward Poland was too transactional. My Polish colleagues, who soberly assess the current situation in Poland and remain supportive of Ukraine, are convinced that during the time when the Law and Justice party was in power, we should have acted much more flexibly.

Currently, electoral campaigns actively use narratives that, despite all Poland has done, Ukraine has turned out ungrateful. These messages fall on a well-prepared soil by Russian propaganda. As a result, anti-Ukrainian forces in Poland collectively received 21.6% of the vote, which is a very worrying signal,” Ariev noted.

• Alexander Sushko, executive director of the International Renaissance Foundation, said that 2030 is a very optimistic but still possible date for Ukraine’s EU accession.