Ukraine ready to delay EU benefits to speed up membership bid—official

Ukraine is willing to delay access to some European Union benefits in order to accelerate its bid for membership, Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka has said, highlighting Kyiv’s flexibility in ongoing accession talks.

In particular, Kachka said Ukraine is prepared to postpone receiving subsidies under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for several years, in an effort to ease concerns over one of the bloc’s largest and most politically sensitive programs.

“This kind of approach is possible, but let’s discuss modalities,” Kachka told Bloomberg TV in an interview.

Ukraine has already faced tensions with EU member states, including Poland, over the bloc’s easing of trade restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural exports. Full EU membership would also grant Ukraine significant CAP benefits, adding further complexity to already difficult negotiations over the EU’s long-term budget.

The CAP provides financial support to EU farmers and accounts for a substantial share of the bloc’s long-term budget, often becoming a central issue in discussions on enlargement. The European Union is currently negotiating its next multiannual financial framework for 2028–2034. According to Kachka, Ukraine could join the CAP only in a later budget cycle.

Kyiv’s priority, he stressed, remains full EU membership as quickly as possible, even if this requires delaying access to certain policies and funding streams available to current member states. He added that Ukraine is ready to meet EU requirements rapidly and aims to sign an accession treaty as early as next year, depending on progress, with ratification by member states expected to take additional years.

Ukraine is also pushing for the urgent release of the first tranche of a €90 billion ($106 billion) EU loan, Kachka said. Hungary has blocked the payments over halted Russian oil deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline, which Moscow damaged during a January airstrike in Ukraine.

Hungary maintains that Ukraine must resume oil flows before any disbursement can proceed. Kachka said Ukraine would soon announce that oil supplies are being restored.

He stressed that unlocking the loan is critical, as part of the funds would be used to cover essential military expenditures.

“It’s literally a mater of life and death, so we need this money as soon as possible,” Kachka said.

By Vafa Guliyeva