EU Mulls Ditching Accession System Used Since Cold War To Fast-Track Ukraine

When in doubt, just change the rules - or so goes the thinking in Brussels as it seeks to get creative on ways to allow Ukraine's quick accession to the European Union, despite it being consistently ranked among the most corrupt governments on earth.

EU officials have described that a current plan being taken seriously is a 'limited' membership tier, part of a proposed European peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war, but which would withhold full membership rights for Kiev, which later must be "earned" according to a phrased transition.

Financial Times puts it this way: "Brussels is drafting proposals to tear up the EU accession system used since the cold war, replacing it with a contentious two-tier model that could fast-track Ukraine's entry in any peace deal to end Russia’s invasion."

These alternative plans have taken greater urgency after "Ukrainian EU membership in 2027" was added into the 20-point peace plan which has been subject of intense back-and-forth between the US, Ukraine, and EU.

As far as drastically changing the accession process for merely a single 'exception' - one EU official who is a proponent was quoted in NBC as saying, "We have to recognize that we are in a very different reality than when the (accession) rules were first drawn up."

And yet immense hurdles would remain, regardless, especially those states seen as 'Russia-friendly' and heavily reliant on Russian energy, Hungary and Slovakia. Joining the bloc requires formal approval of all 27 EU member nations. On top of this, as NBC points out:

But many E.U. governments believe that date, or any other fixed date, is completely unrealistic, because E.U. accession is currently a merit-based process, moving forward only when there is progress in adjusting a country's laws to E.U. standards.

Joining the bloc also requires sign-off from the national parliaments of the EU's 27 member states. Some kind of 'staged access' plan could then open the flood gates for others who are not ready, and whose economies would be a drag and drain and the rest of the EU.

A somewhat recent member like Poland was not even at war when it joined in the 2004 membership wave during the Bush era. Poland itself could stand in the way of fast-tracking Ukraine, with the two eastern European neighbors recently being engaged in several tense diplomatic disputes.

But one unnamed diplomat has argued:

"It is Europe’s interest to have Ukraine in the E.U., because of our own security," an E.U. diplomat said.

"It is why we need to look for creative solutions - how to get Ukraine in the E.U. quickly. The reversed membership concept reflects this idea - to have Ukraine joining the E.U. politically and then getting full rights and full-fledged membership once all conditions are met," the diplomat said.

The European Union has meanwhile continued full steam ahead in efforts to ramp up support to Ukraine's defense sector, even as Washington has been seen as largely withdrawing. For example last November European Parliament voted to approve a 1.5 billion euros ($1.7bn) program which seeks to deepen integration between Ukraine and Europe on military-industrial relations.