ListNook

Eastern_Hornet_6432 Apr 24, 2026 +111

>Ukraine is anticipating the opening of its clusters in the “coming weeks,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka told POLITICO in a video call. I'm not gonna count any chickens just yet. A formal vote needs to happen, and one problem with EU vetoes is that when one vetoing nation is satisfied, another often suddenly decides to veto for some other reason. If the vote passes, though, it's too late to veto, and Ukraine can finally make some real progress on its accession process and reforms. That'll be when I celebrate this as a little victory.

111

Slappyfist Apr 24, 2026 +13

> and one problem with EU vetoes is that when one vetoing nation is satisfied, another often suddenly decides to veto for some other reason. The idea is that typically there is a block who would want to veto and one takes the lead, I guess whoever feels strongest about it or whichever one where it costs the least amount of political capital or whatever. So when there is one veto that can often mean there are multiple vetoes which haven't vote for a veto as they have an understanding that x country is definitely going to do it.

13

Eastern_Hornet_6432 Apr 25, 2026 +3

Yeah EU members will often let one country take the heat as the "bad guy" while the rest lay low. But we'll see whether that's the case here.

3

Piggywonkle Apr 24, 2026 +34

Just want to point out that this is a process that will take more than a few years. Ukraine and Moldova are not part of the EU yet, and there are still many hurdles to get past. This is one step of many. Feel free to celebrate, but there's much more work to do, both on the part of these countries and on those who want to support their shift toward Europe. Rejecting Orban and his type is what we have to do every day, not just in one election.

34

TheBusStop12 Apr 25, 2026 +5

Quite a few years in fact. Montenegro is the closest to joining the EU and even that is expected in 2028 at earliest

5

WitchOfKyiv Apr 24, 2026 +25

LET'S F****** GOOOOOOO! 💪💪💪🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦

25

ShimmiShimmiYah Apr 24, 2026 +121

Fantastic news and well deserved. Slava Ukraini from the US. I'm not Ukrainian, but I know what they've sacrificed in the last decade, not only for their own survival, but Europe as a whole.

121

CucumberWisdom Apr 24, 2026 +4

Yuge news. Go ukrainy

4

Brief_Hospital_1766 Apr 24, 2026 +48

Full membership. Ukrainians are good people and help our economies with both skilled and unskilled labour. They should be added without question.

48

Tricky-Interview2194 Apr 24, 2026 +40

"full membership without a question"? WTF?

40

cxmmxc Apr 24, 2026

Care to elaborate on your feigned shock?

0

takeda64 Apr 24, 2026 +5

I think OP just took it literally. Of course there need to be requirements that Ukraine needs to satisfy to join. The "without question" was more about that not only Ukraine will benefit from joining EU, but it also will benefit greatly for EU's security if Ukraine becomes a member. At this point (especially with what US is doing) one could argue that Europe needs Ukraine more than Ukraine needs Europe.

5

Brief_Hospital_1766 Apr 24, 2026 -7

Yes. As long as they meet the requirements to join, plus the war has ended, then yes, absolutely full membership.

-7

Tricky-Interview2194 Apr 24, 2026 +45

So not "without a question"...

45

lynxbelt234 Apr 24, 2026 +15

Yes this is good news. The Ukrainian people are a great and respected people, in many ways. The next piece of great news would be Ukraine actually becoming a member of NATO. We need to keep our hopes up.

15

VladimiroPudding Apr 24, 2026 +6

Wasn't countries like Poland and France the ones that were putting barriers to Ukraine's bid, actually? Because cheaper agricultural products from Ukraine would make competition complicated for Polish and French farmers?

6

Brief_Hospital_1766 Apr 24, 2026

Yes, I read that, too. But I think those obstacles can be overcome, most likely with subsidies of some sort. It's more important to add another strong democracy when democracies across the planet are under threat like never before.

0

VladimiroPudding Apr 24, 2026 +2

Hope so. Recently Polish farmers were protesting against the approval of EU agreement with Mercosur for the same reasons and it passed anyway because the EU needs to diversify partnerships to reduce reliance on... threatening partners. On an economic sense, Ukraine joining the EU would mean cheaper food for Europeans, which is good in itself.

2

carcatta Apr 24, 2026 -1

What do you mean?

-1

VladimiroPudding Apr 24, 2026 +1

Years ago countries like France were putting difficulties for Ukraine to join the EU, primarily mentioning issues with corruption, but it was a lobby by farmers. Reason being Ukraine has some of the most fertile and vast agricultural lands in the world and crop productivity is unmatchable anywhere else in Europe, and other farmers in EU are not competitive. Polish farmers for instance were protesting EU agreement with Mercosur recently for the same reason.

1

carcatta Apr 24, 2026 +6

Alright, it's true that Ukraine is a powerhouse when it comes to farming, but both corruption and ties to russia before the government change were also an issue. But things change and now inviting Ukraine if they meet the benchmarks should be on the table since the positives overcome the negatives.

6

Brief_Hospital_1766 Apr 24, 2026 +3

This is it. Ukraine should still be made to adhere to all the policies that previous EU member states had to before joining. It's only fair.

3

Koala_eiO Apr 24, 2026 +2

> Polish farmers for instance were protesting EU agreement with Mercosur recently for the same reason. France also blocked it in 2019 invoking those reasons: - Incompatibility between deforestation and the 2015 Paris agreements on climate change. - A big gap in environmental norms, animal well-being norms, sanitary norms presenting a risk for European consumers. - Unfair competition. I'm translating the French Wikipedia [article](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accord_de_libre-%C3%A9change_entre_le_Mercosur_et_l%27Union_europ%C3%A9enne#En_France) here, I don't know if they ever released a communication in English about that. It seems to me that it's pretty in line with the pushback against North American meats filled with hormones.

2

ithinkitslupis Apr 24, 2026 +4

That and their experience with war. We're already seeing how much war has changed with the advent of AI and cheaper drones and automation...even countries that spend a ton like the US are underprepared for modern asymmetric warfare that's really going through the strongest constraint-based innovation directly in Ukraine. They're a great wall against Russian encroachment and an asset to knowledge exchange in the EU in a post US-reliance world a Trump-lead government is forcing.

4

Brief_Hospital_1766 Apr 24, 2026 +4

That too, but I wanted to concentrate on the benefit of their EU membership after the war ends. Hopefully it won't be forever.

4

Correct_Repair_6991 Apr 24, 2026

Well... Ukraine's EU membership is dependent on the current war with Russia being finalized first, otherwise it becomes a legal obligation of NATO to assist it, which is a non-starter in all cases. Ukraine will join the EU one day, but it will be a while before then.

0

Implausibilibuddy Apr 24, 2026 +8

> Ukraine's EU membership is dependent on the current war with Russia being finalized first, otherwise it becomes a legal obligation of NATO to assist it No it doesn't... NATO is a completely separate alliance, it has an obligation to defend NATO states and only NATO states. It's kind of the idea of the treaty, you don't sign the treaty to protect other members, you don't get protection from those other members. EU has its own agreements that cover some of the countries not in NATO, but again, those are totally separate agreements, and as far as I'm aware, don't activate by default upon joining, they have to be agreed and signed upon separately. The EU is primarily an economic community, with some military agreements. NATO is a military alliance outright.

8

Koala_eiO Apr 24, 2026 +7

You are mixing up EU and NATO.

7

DefnotDaniel-YT Apr 24, 2026 -10

Saying Ukrainians are good people is such bullshit, like you know every one of them. I bet you don't have Ukrainian refugees in your house huh

-10

Brief_Hospital_1766 Apr 24, 2026 +1

OK, you got me. I don't know every single Ukrainian who has ever lived. Silly me.

1

John_Ffrost Apr 24, 2026 +4

Can’t think of a better way to force Putin to either shit or get off the pot. By starting a war with The Ukraine, Putin has stupidly shown its would-be enemies that Russia’s military is nothing more than a paper tiger. If Putin had an ounce of brains, he’d focus on Russia becoming a legitimate Democratic State that Russian people could be proud of. And it would eventually lead to Russia’s entry into NATO and E.U. stability.

4

GnerSpree Apr 25, 2026 +3

The war needs to end. Why would the EU accept a nation that's at war? Also, it needs to fulfill all the requirements of a member state, no excuses. Ukraine suffers from too much corruption as well, its a long journey. I find it horrendous to give them such hopes just so that they are motivated to fight for us.

3

No_Method5989 Apr 24, 2026 +2

Yeah go Ukraine. I was a bit annoyed on social media they keep posting about Canada (me country) joining the EU (not sure how viable that is, not against it at all though). I much rather Canada help Ukraine get in there first. They are far more deserving. I guess you could do both but, it's just felt like it glossed over Ukraine.

2

imjustsurfin Apr 24, 2026 +2

Great news. Next up: NATO membership

2

Imaginary_Toe8982 Apr 24, 2026 +1

like that ever gonna happen.. same with those fake hope news...

1

CirnoWhiterock Apr 25, 2026 +1

It won't happen under Trump but probably will post 2028, even if another republican like Rubio or even Vance wins the white house they dont have the hard anti-ukraine stance Trump does.

1

reitau Apr 25, 2026 +1

How would it work when an EU country is at war? Surely there would be a clause that prevents membership until some form of deal / ceasefire is ratified first? Would EU countries be honour bound or legally bound to defend one another?

1

Own_Pop_9711 Apr 25, 2026 +1

The EU has a mutual defense pact. Obviously that will be an issue with admitting Ukraine right now but there are a lot of steps left to take before that is an issue

1

StrokeOfGrimdark Apr 25, 2026 +1

Do away with the VETO first. Zel may be amiable. The EU needs to survive a Ukraine after Zel as well.

1

MercantileReptile Apr 25, 2026 +1

>The first legal step on Kyiv’s path to joining the EU, the opening of cluster one, has been blocked by Hungary for years, but could finally move with a new government in Budapest, officials said. Far cry from the headline's claim, likely as intended. *Politico* is a right wing smear campaign by now, albeit a subtle one. Having said that, I hope Brussels learned a thing or two from their *entirely smooth* eastern expansion earlier. And maybe solve an internal issue or two, before expanding the circle.

1

Public-Student-2160 Apr 24, 2026 +1

Best news in a long time

1

OkNoise3000 Apr 24, 2026 -11

Nope, we dont need more countries in the eu. Its way to many now.

-11

SouthDoctor1046 Apr 24, 2026 +1

Ok, commie

1

EU forges ahead with membership for Ukraine and Moldova after Orbán’s exit

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