President Vladimir Zelensky with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron (Photo: Kyodo via Reuters)
What’s happened «“reverse expansion” of the European Union and why Ukraine could become the first country to pass through it, MPs of the Verkhovna Rada, who have connections with European politicians, explained to NV.
“Reverse expansion” or joining the European Union at the beginning of the process of fulfilling the membership criteria, and not at the end, is what official Brussels is preparing for Ukraine. Recently, authoritative Western media have been writing about this, in particular, Politico did this the other day: with reference to sources, the publication spoke about the plan to grant Ukraine partial membership in the bloc as early as 2027.
At the same time, the support of all 27 member countries, including Hungary, will also be needed. If pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is re-elected again, the leaders of United Europe hope to influence him with the help of US President Donald Trump. If that doesn’t work, Budapest could be stripped of its voting rights under Article 7 of the EU treaty, which is used when a country risks violating the bloc’s core values.
What do Ukrainian MPs associated with the European Parliament know about these plans? And when can Ukraine really join the bloc?
date:2026-02-14 01:06:00