ByREUTERS

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Sunday that EU governments were not ready to set a date for Ukraine's membership, despite a demand from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Zelenskiy repeated on Saturday that he needed a date as part of security guarantees for a final peace package with Russia.

"My feeling is that the member states are not ready to give a concrete date," Kallas told a panel at the Munich Security Conference. "There's a lot of work to be done."

Ukraine pushing for 2027 membership 

Ukrainian EU membership in 2027 was penciled into a 20-point peace plan discussed between the United States, Ukraine, and the European Union, diplomats have said, as a measure to ensure Ukraine's economic prosperity after the war ends.

But many EU governments believe that date, or any other fixed date, is unrealistic because EU accession is a merit-based process that moves forward only when a country makes progress in aligning its laws with EU standards.

Members of the audience listen, as EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Colombia's Minister of Defense Pedro Arnulfo Sanchez attend the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in M
Members of the audience listen, as EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Colombia's Minister of Defense Pedro Arnulfo Sanchez attend the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in M (credit: REUTERS/THILO SCHMUELGEN)

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics echoed the Kallas comments but held out little hope of an imminent peace deal.

"Yes, we understand that we need Ukraine in the European Union and, yes, when talking with many heads of state, I get the feeling there is no readiness to accept a date," he said.

Rinkevics said that the EU had always been creative when there was a real need and could probably find a formula that suited the bloc, but it would also need to assuage Western Balkan states and Moldova, which have long been vying for membership.

"Like it or not, it is very much tied to the peace deal. Will there be a peace deal or not? I don't see that Russia is going to move, and if Russia is not moving, then we are not going to have a deal," he said.

Ukraine applied to join the EU days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, seeking to anchor itself politically and economically to the West.

It has been pushing to make progress on its bid despite the challenges posed by the war and opposition from EU member Hungary, which is blocking the start of detailed membership talks.