Overview
- Financial Times and AFP report the latest US-led proposal includes a clause for Ukraine to join the EU by 1 January 2027 as part of a broader plan to end the war that also contemplates territorial concessions.
- Corriere della Sera reports the 2027 date was not agreed with Brussels or European capitals, and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says decisions must be based on results and merit even as such a clause could help overcome Hungary’s veto.
- Diplomats and officials in Brussels call the timetable unrealistic, citing the need for unanimity among 27 member states and negotiations across 36 chapters that Ukraine has not yet completed.
- Backers of the draft say US support could be used to pressure Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to lift objections, a lever President Volodymyr Zelensky says Washington possesses.
- The clause has triggered a diplomatic scramble, with Kyiv pushing for acceleration, the EU launching 'frontloading' technical talks in Lviv, and further discussions expected in Berlin.