How do you join the European Union?

Mar 10, 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signs an official request for Ukraine to join the European Union, with Prime Minister Denys Shmygal (R) and Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk standing next to him, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 28, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY

Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova have submitted EU membership bids in the aftermath of the Russian invasion. Image: Reuters

Emma Charlton

Writer, Forum Agenda

Our Impact

The Big Picture

Explore and monitor how Geopolitics is affecting economies, industries and global issues

A hand holding a looking glass by a lake

Crowdsource Innovation

Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:

Geopolitics

Listen to the article

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for “fast-track membership”. Image: Twitter/@ZelenskyyUa

A tweet from EU Co-president Charles Michel.

Europe’s economic and political union.

A chart showing how long it takes to join the EU.

Negotiations to join the EU can take more than five years. Image: The UK in a changing Europe

Have you read?

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

More on Geopolitics
See all

Instability, inflation and the 'polycrisis' – the Global Risks Report half a year on

Charlotte Edmond and Robin Pomeroy

October 11, 2023

44:43

SDIM 2023 - Building Sustainable Trust in a Fragmenting World - English

The African Union has been made a permanent member of the G20 – what does it mean for the continent?

Chido Munyati

September 14, 2023

What is World Humanitarian Day and why is it important?

Joe Myers

August 18, 2023

Can this Enlightenment idea really guide us to a more peaceful existence?

John Letzing

August 17, 2023

29:33

Global geopolitics, analysed