European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants to grant Ukraine privileged access to the EU single market as part of a final peace deal, The Telegraph reported on March 7, citing an unnamed senior EU official.
Asked whether von der Leyen is ready to stretch EU rules to their limit for Ukraine, the unnamed senior EU official told the Telegraph that "it’s already going in that direction."
Such a move could bring a boost to Ukraine's war-torn economy with the country's defense industry as a key element of the EU plan, the Telegraph reported. Tariff-free access to Ukrainian weapons will bring Kyiv funds while increasing the arsenals of EU countries, according to the newspaper.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine currently produces about a third of the needed weapons, aiming to produce 50%.
According to the EU plan, Brussels will choose which sectors to open to Ukraine and which to keep closed, the newspaper reported.
Ukraine applied for EU membership at the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. The country has made quick progress, achieving candidate status within months, with the initial negotiations formally launching in June 2024.
Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in 2023 that Kyiv was seeking to ensure full integration into the EU's single market before joining the bloc.
Kyiv will open two or three negotiation clusters in the first six months of 2025 under Poland's rotating presidency, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in January.
Kateryna Denisova
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