European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius said Ukraine’s NATO membership is currently unrealistic, while accession to the European Union remains a long and difficult path with no guarantee of rapid integration.

Instead, Kubilius proposed a special format of cooperation between Kiev and the EU. According to him, Ukraine could be granted full access to the European internal market as an exception and be included in the bloc’s defense programs.

Earlier, the Financial Times reported that Germany and France had proposed a form of «symbolic» EU membership for Ukraine. Under such a scenario, Kiev would formally be listed as part of the bloc but would receive almost none of the rights available to full members.

According to the newspaper, even a lighter version of membership could include an EU mutual defense clause.