Austria rejects fast-track EU membership for Ukraine

Austria does not support accelerating Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, the country’s minister for European affairs, Claudia Bauer, said in an interview published on July 25.

Bauer told Welt am Sonntag that all candidate countries must meet the same criteria and warned against any attempt to fast-track Ukraine’s membership.

“I have the impression that in recent months the Ukrainian president has increasingly tried to dictate to the European Union the date of Ukraine’s accession. But there can be no accelerated accession ‘on demand’. All candidate countries, including Ukraine, must follow the same rules and earn membership through their achievements. Kyiv still has much to do — in particular in strengthening the rule of law and aligning its legislation with European standards,” she said.

While reiterating Vienna’s position, Bauer suggested that an alternative pathway could involve “partial membership” through a model of phased integration, an approach discussed earlier this year for countries seeking closer ties with the bloc.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, has repeatedly rejected such proposals, insisting that Ukraine is seeking full EU membership.

By Tamilla Hasanova