Ukraine's EU Membership: New Chapters Open Despite Active War — Unprecedented in History

The EU has opened new negotiating chapters with Ukraine in what is genuinely unprecedented: active accession negotiation with a country at war.

Ukraine's EU Accession: Making History in the Most Difficult Circumstances Imaginable

The continuation of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine in March 2026 — with new chapters being formally opened and assessed despite the country's ongoing full-scale war with Russia — represents something genuinely unprecedented in the history of European integration. No country has previously conducted EU accession negotiations while engaged in an existential military conflict on its own territory. The Ukrainian government's determination to pursue this parallel track — using the EU accession process as both an anchor for domestic reform and a political signal of European aspiration even while its military is fighting for the country's survival — has generated both admiration and practical challenges within the EU institutions conducting the negotiations.

The chapters currently being assessed cover areas including judiciary and fundamental rights — the rule of law chapter that is typically the most demanding and politically sensitive in any accession process — as well as competition policy, state aid, digital single market integration, and consumer and health protection standards. Progress on these chapters requires Ukraine to demonstrate not merely that it has enacted the required legislation but that it is implementing and enforcing those laws effectively — a challenge in a country where institutional capacity is under unprecedented stress.

EU assessors who have conducted missions to Ukraine report that the level of institutional engagement and reform commitment is remarkable given the circumstances. Ukrainian officials who are simultaneously managing wartime administrative demands have been meeting with European counterparts, processing technical reviews, and implementing legislative changes that would challenge any government's administrative capacity even in peacetime conditions. The commitment is genuine, the progress is real, and the circumstances are extraordinary.