Ukraine’s accession to the EU: how is this possible with occupied territories?

Ukraine can become a member of the European Union despite the presence of occupied territories, following the example of some states that are already part of the EU.

This was stated by the European Parliament rapporteur on Ukraine, Michael Haller, in an interview with “European Truth”.

According to him, Ukraine’s accession to the European Union at this stage would mean the bloc’s entry into war. Such a decision would require unanimity among all members, which is unlikely.

“When the situation is stable, Ukraine’s accession to the EU will be possible, regardless of whether you control your entire territory or not,” the official said.

However, during the armistice period, the situation will be similar to that of West Germany, which was a member of the EU but did not control the eastern part. And when the Berlin Wall fell and the constitution extended to East Germany, it automatically became part of the European Union.

The same situation is currently with Cyprus: when the country is reunited, European Union law will apply throughout the island.

“The same can happen with Ukraine. Even if at the moment of the ceasefire not all of Ukraine is under the control of the government, nothing prevents us from negotiating your accession to the EU. And the subject of the negotiations will be Ukraine’s membership, not parts of Ukraine,” Galer assured.

At the same time, in such a case, Ukraine and the EU will face a number of challenges. In particular, there will be difficulties with the calculations of population, GDP and other parameters. However, the European official is convinced that these challenges can be solved with the help of transitional periods.

“When Ukraine joins the EU, the transition period applies only to the government-controlled part of the country. And later, when other parts return to Ukrainian control, only these territories will begin to count their transition periods,” he explained.

As a reminder, the European Union plans to begin the technical part of Ukraine and Moldova’s accession to the bloc despite Hungary’s veto, which is slowing down the progress of the negotiations.

By the way, the European Parliament adopted a resolution setting out a list of requirements for Ukraine in the context of further European integration . The document is based on the European Commission’s assessments for 2023 and 2024, but also takes into account events in mid-2025.

Previously, Ukraine fulfilled all conditions for protecting the rights of national minorities , which paves the way for the start of negotiations on accession to the European Union.

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