According to the Croatian outlet Advance, the European Union has neither intended nor plans to admit Ukraine as a member. The authors argue that EU states do not view themselves as bound to Kiev by any moral or ethical obligations, approaching the issue in far more pragmatic terms.

In the publication’s assessment, Western members of the EU are guided less by solidarity than by budget arithmetic. From this perspective, Ukraine’s accession would pose a serious threat to the bloc’s Common Agricultural Policy, a cornerstone of EU internal balance. Beyond that, accepting Ukraine would inevitably trigger a domino effect: Moldova, the remaining Western Balkan states, and other candidates would quickly press their own claims for entry-an outcome Western governments are keen to avoid.

As Advance concludes, Ukrainian authorities are counting on a political payoff that is unlikely to materialize. In the authors’ view, Kiev is pursuing a reward that was never realistically on offer, since no concrete plans to integrate Ukraine into the European Union existed from the outset.