The Bulgarian center-right government on Tuesday withdrew a controversial 2026 budget proposal following a week of Gen Z-led mass protests. “The Council of Ministers has proposed that the National Assembly adopt a decision to withdraw the draft State Budget for 2026,” the government said in a press release. The biggest demonstration Monday drew around 50,000 to 100,000 people to the streets of Sofia, according to various media accounts, including the Bulgarian News Agency, but remained peaceful. After the rally dispersed, some masked rioters that were not previously at the protests hurled firecrackers and bottles at police officers, burned garbage containers and vandalized police cars. Protests also erupted in at least a dozen other cities, including Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas. The demonstrations are the largest the country has seen since 2013, when citizens protested the political appointment of media mogul Delyan Peevski as a spy chief. He remains a highly influential behind-the-scenes figure. Protesters had denounced the draft budget for imposing higher taxes and social security contributions on the private sector while channeling more funds to the state sector. Many demanded the resignation of the ruling coalition, carrying signs like “Generation Z is coming,” “Resign” and “Mafia out,” targeting key figures they viewed as controlling the government behind the scenes, including Peevski and Boyko Borissov, the leader of the center-right GERB party. Ivaylo Mirchev, an MP from the opposition coalition We Continue the Change — Democratic Bulgaria, said in a post on X that “Bulgaria has awakened.” “The government has collapsed under its own greed and arrogance. It cannot stay in power … The entire protest has demanded its resignation; they know their time is up, and now they are terrified of this unprecedented energy. Because the ones on stage are the youngest, they want their future, and they will not settle for fakes,” he wrote. The Bulgarian Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment. The unrest comes as Bulgaria prepares to adopt the euro on Jan. 1, with roughly half the population skeptical of the move amid fears of inflation and disinformation spread by Russia aimed at undermining public support for the single currency. Antoaneta Roussi contributed to this report.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on Thursday rejected allegations linking him to so-called sniper safaris during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s, calling the claims “lies” aimed at portraying him as a “monster” and “cold-blooded killer.” “I have never killed anyone, never wounded anyone, nor done anything of the sort,” Vučić told reporters on the sidelines of the U.K.-Western Balkans regional business conference in Belgrade. Croatian investigative journalist Domagoj Margetić said Tuesday he had filed a formal complaint with prosecutors in Milan, alleging Vučić either took part in or helped facilitate “sniper tourism,” in which foreigners allegedly paid Bosnian Serb forces to be able to shoot civilians from positions overlooking the besieged city. In his letter to prosecutors, Margetić cites a 1993 video and purported wartime interviews, along with testimony from Bosnian officials as evidence that Vučić was a “war volunteer” in Sarajevo in 1992 and 1993, and a member of the New Sarajevo Chetnik Detachment of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS). He further alleges that Vučić spent several months stationed at a frontline position at Sarajevo’s Jewish cemetery. Responding to the allegations about the 1993 footage, which allegedly shows him holding a sniper rifle alongside other armed men at the cemetery, Vučić insisted: “I have never in my life held a sniper rifle. I didn’t even have the rifle you’re talking about, because that is a camera tripod.” Margetić’s accusations came as prosecutors in Milan opened an inquiry last week into alleged Italian nationals who may have taken part in the so-called sniper safaris, investigating potential charges of aggravated murder. Investigators are looking into claims that foreign visitors allegedly paid Bosnian Serb troops of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) — operating under the command of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić, who was convicted of genocide in 2016 — to transport them to hillside positions around Sarajevo, where they could fire at civilians for sport. More than 10,000 people were killed in Sarajevo between 1992 and 1996, many by relentless shelling and sniper fire, during what became the longest siege in modern European history, following Bosnia and Herzegovina’s declaration of independence from Yugoslavia. The siege saw Bosnian government forces defending the city against Bosnian Serb troops who encircled Sarajevo from the surrounding hills. The Italian probe, triggered by a complaint from independent journalist and writer Ezio Gavazzeni, aims to determine whether the long-rumored “human safaris” occurred and who may have enabled or participated in them. “We’re talking about wealthy people, with a reputation, entrepreneurs, who during the siege of Sarajevo paid to be able to kill defenseless civilians,” Gavazzeni told La Repubblica.

Kosovo is heading toward a snap election after political parties failed to agree on a governing majority Wednesday, leading to the dissolution of parliament. President Vjosa Osmani announced that the election will take place on Dec. 28, bringing Kosovo back to the polls for the seventh time since its independence from Serbia in 2008. More than nine months have passed since Kosovo held its latest parliamentary election, in which Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s ruling Self-Determination party (VV) won the most votes but fell short of securing the 61-seat majority needed to form a government. Parties have been engaged in talks but failed to meet the Nov. 19 constitutional deadline to form a government. “Once again, the opposition chose obstruction over responsibility, blocking the will of the majority and preventing Kosovo from moving forward,” Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Liza Gashi, a member of VV, told POLITICO. Kurti offered to step aside and let his VV colleague, Glauk Konjufca, speaker of the Assembly, take the mandate of prime minister, proposing to serve as deputy PM and foreign minister instead — after Kurti himself failed to form a government on Oct. 26. In a last-ditch effort, President Osmani gave Konjufca the mandate to propose a Cabinet, which he presented to MPs on Wednesday. But Konjufca’s proposal won only 56 votes in the 120-seat Assembly — falling short of the 61 needed. The Western Balkan country applied for EU membership in 2022, but remains only a potential candidate: Five member countries still do not recognize Kosovo, and an unresolved, EU-mediated dialogue with Serbia has left Pristina’s accession prospects effectively frozen. “The reality right now is we don’t even have our application looked at,” Osmani told POLITICO in a recent interview. “It’s somewhere in the drawers of the European Union, but it’s not moving forward.” The EU and the U.S. have also imposed political sanctions on Kosovo following tension in the northern part of the country where the Serb-minority resides, after Kurti installed Albanian mayors, which was largely seen as provocative. “The EU is aware of Wednesday’s developments in the Kosovo Assembly and expresses regret over the failure of the political parties, which were unable to overcome the prolonged political deadlock following the February 2025 parliamentary elections,” a Commission spokesperson said. “The EU stands ready to work with Kosovo authorities and to continue supporting Kosovo on its path towards the EU,” the spokesperson added.

LONDON — Albania’s prime minister accused Britain’s interior minister of “ethnic stereotyping” after she singled out 700 Albanian families whose asylum claims had failed in a speech selling an immigration clampdown. Amid intense pressure on the incumbent Labour government over migration, Shabana Mahmood used a House of Commons statement Monday to argue that the U.K. is not currently removing family groups of asylum seekers “even when we know that their home country is perfectly safe.” She cited Albanian families currently living in taxpayer-funded accommodation. That sparked the ire of Albania’s Edi Rama — who has clashed with Britain’s right-wing Reform UK leader Nigel Farage in the past. Rama posted on X Wednesday: “Official policy should never be driven by ethnic stereotyping. That is the very least humanity expects from the great Great Britain.” The 700 Albanian families Mahmood had highlighted were, Rama argued “a statistical drop in the ocean of post-Brexit Britain’s challenges.” Singling out Albanian families was “not policy,” but “a troubling and indecent exercise in demagoguery,” he added. Britain’s last Conservative government signed a returns deal with Albania in 2022, and official data shows the U.K. has deported more than 13,000 people there since. “Albania is, and intends to remain, one of the U.K.’s most active allies in broader migration control across the Balkans,” Rama argued. “The U.K. should be seeking ways to deepen cooperation with Albania on all security issues – from defense to border protection — rather than repeatedly scapegoating Albanians and thereby exposing citizens of an allied nation to increased risks, including from extremist groups that thrive on such narratives,” he added. Asked about Rama’s characterization in an interview aired on Thursday morning Mahmood said: “I obviously disagree.” She insisted she was talking about people whose asylum claims in the U.K. had failed, rather than Albanians still deemed to be in need of protection. “We are not talking about people who are refugees,” she said.

BRUSSELS — Ukraine must avoid backsliding on anti-corruption efforts to remain in the fast lane for EU membership, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said Tuesday as she prepared to unveil a report praising pro-EU reforms in Moldova, Albania and Montenegro. While lauding Kyiv’s efforts to conduct reforms during wartime, Kos pointed to concerns about the strength of anti-corruption reforms as a potential obstacle following a furor in the summer over a law that would have kneecapped the independence of anti-corruption watchdogs. “Amid the challenges caused by Russia’s war of aggression, Ukraine has demonstrated its commitment to its EU path,” Kos told European lawmakers ahead of unveiling the EU’s latest progress reports on candidate countries. “It will be essential to sustain this momentum and prevent any risk of backsliding, in particular on anti-corruption.” Facing an international outcry, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reversed course on his controversial decision to assert political control over the anti-corruption agencies and restored the independence of two corruption-fighting bodies in July. But the damage to Ukraine’s image as an A+ candidate for EU membership had already been done in the eyes of the European Commission, as well as national capitals, according to EU officials and diplomats who spoke to POLITICO ahead of the report’s unveiling later on Tuesday afternoon. The uproar led Kos to give slightly more emphatic praise for Moldova’s reform efforts in the progress report even though Chișinău’s accession bid is politically linked to that of Kyiv, and the two countries have so far advanced in lockstep. “Moldova has progressed on its accession path with accelerated speed and significantly deepened its cooperation with the EU despite the continuous hybrid threats and attempts to destabilize the country,” Kos said. Of all the countries applying to join the EU, Brussels gave the highest praise to Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova, noting that these countries aimed to finalize their accession negotiations by the end of 2026, the end of 2027, and in 2028 for the latter two, respectively. “The coming year will be a moment of truth for all candidate countries, but especially those that presented ambitious plans to complete negotiations,” Kos added. This year’s accession report card will land amid heightened concern in Brussels and European capitals that Moscow is trying to pull EU candidates out of Brussels’ orbit and back into Russia’s sphere of influence. A recent election campaign in Moldova, in which pro-EU forces prevailed, was marred by “massive Russian interference,” according to President Maia Sandu, while Russia has openly courted Serbian leader Aleksandar Vučić, inviting him to Moscow for a military parade last May. The report card is expected to be particularly harsh on Serbia, the largest EU candidate country in the Western Balkans, which has received visits from both European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President António Costa in the past few months. “In Serbia, the authorities continue to declare EU membership as their strategic goal, but the actual pace of implementation of reforms has slowed down significantly,” Kos told the lawmakers.  But the harshest words were reserved for Georgia, where a Moscow-friendly ruling party has been cracking down on pro-democracy, pro-EU protests. “In Georgia, the situation has sharply deteriorated, with serious democratic backsliding,” Kos said. “The Commission considers Georgia a candidate country in name only.”

BRUSSELS — Bulgaria is exploring requesting an exemption to new U.S. sanctions against Russia’s largest private oil company, according to two people familiar with the matter, as it fears the measures will cause severe fuel shortages and a populist backlash across the country. President Donald Trump last week announced sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, prompting several EU countries in which the firms operate to scramble for exemptions. Bulgaria is home to the sprawling Lukoil-owned Burgas refinery, which provides up to 80 percent of the country’s fuel. The firm has historically cast an immense economic shadow over the Balkan nation, while the facility has previously been linked to EU sanctions loophole exploitation. Now, the government has asked Washington how it should go about requesting an extension to the sanctions beyond their start date of Nov. 21, according to the people, who were briefed on the matter and granted anonymity to speak freely on sensitive matters. The government is concerned the sanctions could force the refinery to stop working as banks pull back from the facility, the people said, prompting widespread fuel shortages and protests. Sofia argues that could precipitate the government’s collapse, the people said, bolstering support for Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, a figure seen by some as pro-Russian who has publicly floated the idea of creating a new political party. The Bulgarian energy ministry declined to comment. Bulgaria’s presidency didn’t immediately respond to questions from POLITICO. Julian Popov, a former Bulgarian environment minister and senior fellow at the Strategic Perspectives think tank, agreed the government is “not properly prepared” and has “no contingency plan” for Lukoil’s exit, making fuel shortages likely unless a solution is found. He argued the government should now move to take operational control over the refinery, backed by an “international committee” of global lawyers and experts that can help Sofia manage the strategic facility. Still, experts questioned the claim that if the U.S. fails to grant a sanctions exemption, Radev would storm to power. That is a “scare tactic” from the government, said Ilian Vasilev, a former Bulgarian ambassador to Russia who now heads the Innovative Energy Solutions consultancy, in a bid to avoid acting fast on selling the refinery. “There are legitimate interests and serious interests in buying Lukoil assets,” he argued, adding there is “no need to panic.”

A shooting Wednesday outside the Serbian parliament in Belgrade that left one person injured was a “terrorist attack,” President Aleksandar Vučić said. “He carried out — this is my political assessment, and as a lawyer — an awful terrorist attack on other people and on others’ property; he caused general danger. The final legal qualification of the act will be given by the competent prosecutor’s office,” Vučić said at a press conference shortly after the shooting. In a video shared on social platform X, gunfire is heard and black smoke rises from a fire at a tent camp outside the parliament. The man who was injured is in serious condition and will undergo surgery, according to local media. The tent settlement was erected by supporters of Vučić in front of the parliament during the anti-government, student-led protests that have turned into the largest demonstrations across the country since Slobodan Milošević’s ouster in 2000. “It was a question of time before this would happen … There were countless calls for this,” said Vučić, who has repeatedly accused the protesters of violence. Vučić said that the suspected perpetrator, a pensioner from Belgrade, was arrested. The students, who plan another big protest on Oct. 31, said in a post on X that their strategy “has never been a path of violence.” The protests began last November after a railway station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad, killing 16 people, including two young children, and leaving several others gravely injured. The government denies any blame despite accusations linking the tragedy to a state-run renovation project plagued by shoddy construction and oversight failures.

LONDON — Kosovo is willing to help the U.K. clamp down on illegal migration, the Kosovan prime minister has said on the eve of a major summit of Western Balkan leaders. Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, confirmed that he is in talks with the U.K. over reaching a deal to target irregular migration and said his country has a “duty” to help tackle the problem. Keir Starmer will host talks with the leaders of six nations from the region on Wednesday in London, as he seeks to fulfill his promise to reduce the number of immigrants residing in the U.K. illegally. Ahead of the meeting, Kurti spoke positively about the prospect of a partnership between his country and the U.K., which officials are expected to discuss on the sidelines of Wednesday’s gathering. He told a private meeting: “We want to help the U.K. — we consider that that is our friendly and political duty. We have limited capacity but still we want to help, and as we speak there is regular communication between our teams of state officials from our ministry of internal affairs and lawyers about how to do this smoothly for mutual benefit.” He said that in return, Kosovo would seek greater security cooperation, specifying that the two sides were still working out the details, “but I think this will have a successful result.” Referring to Britain’s role in efforts to end the Bosnian war in the 1990s, Kurti added that his country had an obligation to assist “because you helped us a great deal and will never forget that.” U.K. officials confirmed that they were in talks with counterparts about potential return hubs, but stressed it was only one proposal among several being explored. Starmer has previously voiced enthusiasm for the idea of securing a bilateral agreement for processing people who have exhausted all their options to stay in the U.K. , but has not confirmed active talks with any one country. Migration hubs were recently discussed at a meeting of Western Balkan foreign ministers at Hillsborough Castle in Belfast, and analysts have pointed to Kosovo as one of the most attractive options for a deal. Kosovo would likely seek stronger U.K. diplomatic support in the face of threats from Serbia, repelling Russian influence, and securing its own borders.

BRUSSELS ― New countries could join the European Union without full voting rights, in a move that could make leaders such as Hungary’s Viktor Orbán more amenable to the likes of Ukraine becoming part of the bloc. The proposal to change EU membership rules is at an early stage and would need to be approved by all existing nations, according to three European diplomats and an EU official with knowledge of the discussions. The idea is that new members would achieve full rights once the EU has overhauled the way it functions to make it more difficult for individual countries to veto policies. It’s the latest attempt by pro-EU enlargement governments, such as Austria and Sweden, to breathe life into an expansion process that is currently being blocked by Budapest and a few other capitals over fears it could bring unwanted competition for local markets or compromise security interests. The EU has made enlargement a strategic priority amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expansionist agenda, although the push to increase the number of members from the current 27 to as many as 30 over the next decade is exposing the bloc’s internal divisions. “Future members should be required to waive their right of veto until key institutional reforms — such as the introduction of qualified majority voting in most policy areas — have been implemented,” said Anton Hofreiter, chair of the German Bundestag’s European Affairs Committee. “Enlargement must not be slowed down by individual EU member states blocking reforms.” The initiative would allow countries currently on the path to membership, such as Ukraine, Moldova and Montenegro, to enjoy many of the benefits of EU membership but without veto rights ― something that EU governments have always cherished as the ultimate tool to prevent EU policies they don’t like. The thinking behind the proposal — which is being informally discussed among EU countries and the Commission, according to the same diplomats and officials — is that bringing in new countries without veto rights, at least at the beginning of their membership, would allow them to join on more flexible terms without requiring an overhaul of the EU’s basic treaties, seen by several governments as a non-starter. Previously, EU leaders had insisted that such an overhaul was needed before the bloc could admit new members like Ukraine, highlighting the risk of increasing deadlocks in Brussels. However, attempts to abolish the veto power for the EU’s existing members as well have run into staunch opposition, not only from Hungary but also France and the Netherlands. GROWING FRUSTRATION The plan for new members to join without full voting rights would “ensure that we remain capable of acting even in an enlarged EU,” Hofreiter said. “From discussions with representatives of the Western Balkan states, I am receiving clear signals that this approach is considered constructive and viable.” Demanding that new countries not be allowed to join until the EU reforms the way it operates risks the bloc being able to “hold up enlargement through the back door,” he said. The push coincides with growing frustration in Eastern European and Western Balkan candidate states that have undertaken far-reaching internal reforms, but are no closer to membership years after applying. In the case of Montenegro, negotiations for joining the EU started in 2012. “The last country that entered [the EU] was Croatia more than 10 years ago ― and in the meantime the United Kingdom left,” Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović told POLITICO in an interview. “So this is why I believe that now is the time to revive the process, to also revive a bit the idea of the EU as a club that still has a gravity towards it.” Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Taras Kachka, echoed those concerns, calling for “creative” solutions to unblock EU enlargement. Kyiv’s bid to join the EU is currently held up by a veto from Hungary. “Waiting is not an option,” Kachka said in an interview. “So what we need [is] to have a solution here and now. This is important for Ukraine but also for the European Union … I think that as Russia tests European security with drones, the same is done by undermining unity of the European Union.” The EU has made enlargement a strategic priority amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expansionist agenda | Photo by Contributor/Getty Images While European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has put enlargement at the center of her strategic agenda, touting potential membership for Ukraine and Moldova by 2030, EU countries have so far resisted efforts to speed up the process. Earlier this month, EU countries shot down an attempt by European Council President António Costa, first reported by POLITICO, to move ahead with expansion. Leaders from the Western Balkan countries — Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia — will meet with European leaders on Wednesday in London for a “Berlin Process” summit focused on boosting integration among those nations as a precursor to EU enlargement. Ahead of an upcoming Commission assessment on the state of enlargement negotiations with the different candidate countries, the so-called enlargement package, one of the EU diplomats suggested the Commission could also seek to speed up the enlargement process by moving forward on negotiations without seeking formal approval from all 27 EU countries on each occasion. That would also avoid giving Orbán a veto at every stage of the negotiation. Crucially, as part of the enlargement package, the Commission is also expected to float a proposal for internal EU reforms to prepare the bloc for admitting new members. EXPANSIONIST RUSSIA Separately, an early draft of conclusions for the gathering of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday contains no mention of enlargement — to the outrage of pro-enlargement countries. Membership in the European Union is often touted as the bloc’s key geopolitical tool against an aggressive Russia. “When we look at enlargement today, one thing is clear: We need to get faster, less bureaucratic and more efficient,” Claudia Plakolm, Austria’s Europe minister, told POLITICO. “If the EU does not step up its game, we will lose ground to third actors who are already waiting to take our place.” While European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has put enlargement at the center of her strategic agenda, touting potential membership for Ukraine and Moldova by 2030, EU countries have so far resisted efforts to speed up the process. | Thierry Monasse/Getty Images Future EU membership was a key issue in recent Moldovan elections, won by pro-EU President Maia Sandu, while EU membership was a key motivation for Ukraine as far back as the 2014 Maidan protests against Russian rule. “Ukrainians have been fighting every day for the past three and a half years to keep Russia out of Europe,” Marta Kos, the EU’s enlargement commissioner, said in written comments to POLITICO. “In Moldova it was the credibility of the EU perspective that was decisive … I am confident that member states will not jeopardize this.” Despite the pressure from Brussels, however, EU leaders facing surging support for far-right parties at home appear to be in no rush to jump-start the bloc’s expansion to 30 members and beyond. At a press conference in July, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz let slip that he did not expect Ukraine to join the EU within the timeframe of its upcoming seven-year budget, which lasts until 2034. Ukraine’s membership would “probably not have any immediate impact on the European Union’s medium-term financial perspective,” Merz said at the time. Hans von der Burchard reported from Berlin and Nicholas Vinocur from Brussels.

Ukraine sees its EU membership bid advancing before the end of this year thanks to “creative solutions” to overcome Hungary’s opposition, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka told POLITICO. EU leaders could sign off on opening as many as six negotiating “clusters” — legal steps on the path to membership in the bloc — in December as “political momentum” builds and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán faces growing pressure to remove his veto, he said. “You can complete preparation of reopening of all clusters and if there will be a political momentum, then all clusters can go already by the end of this year,” Kachka said in an interview. He added: “The position of Hungary is getting more and more unjustified.” The Hungarian leader has placed opposition to Ukraine’s EU membership at the center of his bid for reelection next year, arguing that such a large new member would destabilize the bloc. But Kachka argued during a stopover in Brussels that Hungary’s “painful” opposition to Ukrainian membership was not insurmountable and that a solution would be found most likely during a December gathering of European leaders. “I believe that member states will find a solution in December,” he said after sharing notes on Ukraine’s internal reforms with EU national representatives. Kachka added that an in-person meeting between Orbán and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was possible to unstick the membership problem, though he could not say “when and where it will take place.” ‘WAITING IS NOT AN OPTION’ Ukraine got the political green light to start accession talks in 2023 and has been negotiating for months to enter the bloc. But without a legal sign-off from all 27 EU countries, Kyiv will not have formally begun its accession process — a point of growing frustration for millions of Ukrainians. “What is difficult to explain in [Ukrainian] society is that we need to wait. … Waiting is not an option,” Kachka said regarding Kyiv’s membership bid. “We need to have a solution here and now. This is important for Ukraine but also for the European Union.” A formal green light to join the EU would mark a major victor for Zelenskyy, who recently emerged empty-handed from a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington. Trump has rebuffed Kyiv’s efforts to join NATO, while Hungary is the main obstacle to its membership in the EU. Kachka hailed an initiative by European Council President Antonio Costa to facilitate the process of applying to join the EU, saying the Portuguese politician had “advocated heavily” in favor of removing hurdles. “Antonio Costa is really strong in this case. And I will be glad to see if his initiative will be successful,” Kachka said. Costa’s initiative was shot down at an informal gathering of leaders in Copenhagen, but pro-enlargement countries have since come up with a new proposal to overcome opposition not just from Hungary, but also from other skeptical states such as Bulgaria and Greece. Under this new proposal, first reported by POLITICO and currently being studied in Brussels, new entrants to the EU would not have a right to veto bloc-wide policy decisions. This would amount to second-tier membership in the bloc, but could overcome deep-seated fears of the EU’s agenda being taken hostage by new members potentially including Ukraine, Moldova and Western Balkan countries such as Montenegro. Kachka didn’t comment specifically on the new proposal but praised what he called “creative solutions” to address opposition from Hungary and other EU governments. Poland is one country where fear of being flooded with cheap Ukrainian agricultural produce has led to concerns about Kyiv’s membership, but Warsaw isn’t alone. As recently as July, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested he didn’t expect Ukraine to join the EU before 2034 at the earliest. “I know Poland quite well,” Kachka said. “That’s why I understand that … farmers are an essential element of [Poland’s] social fabric. I think that the solutions are there so that you can fine-tune the Common Agricultural Policy in a way that allows for greater efficiencies in the EU-wide food system,” he said. Despite pressure from eager candidate countries and top EU officials, European leaders seem to be in no rush to unblock the process. A draft version of the latest Council conclusions obtained by POLITICO contained no mention of enlargement.