Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys believes that the deadline for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union should be set for January 1, 2030, and that negotiation clusters must be opened as soon as possible.
He stated this to journalists ahead of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Copenhagen on Saturday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
“We have to support Ukraine on territorial integrity. No one has the right to question it, because it’s fundamentally grounded in international law. Lithuania will never recognize the de jure or de facto occupation of Ukrainian territory, and Ukraine must not be left alone,” he said.
Within the EU, foreign ministers, including those meeting in the Gymnich format, are set to discuss further steps to advance Ukraine’s EU accession.
“EU membership is one of the security guarantees for Ukraine. And we have to move fast. I am really optimistic and expecting that Cluster 1 [of EU accession talks] will open very soon, and then all other clusters for negotiations during the Danish presidency,” Budrys said.
If consensus among all 27 member states cannot be reached, Budrys suggested switching to the “26 track” and being ready to practically implement this scenario.
“We cannot waste time. The deadline for us has to be January 1, 2030, for Ukraine to become a full member state of the European Union,” he said.
As reported earlier, Hungary continues to block the opening of negotiation clusters in Ukraine’s EU accession talks.
On August 27, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko discussed the start of membership negotiations with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Svyrydenko stated that Ukraine is ready to open the first three negotiation clusters now, and all remaining clusters by the end of the year. She stressed that opening the first cluster would send Ukrainians a signal of the irreversibility of the country’s European integration.
Photo: Screenshot from European Commission video
Source: Ukraine should become EU member by 2030 – Lithuanian foreign minister
