Ukraine in the EU ‘house’
Yet amid this inhumane grind, Mathernová is optimistic that the prospect of some form of EU membership in 2027 could keep Ukrainians’ resolve intact. As POLITICO reported this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen floated the idea of “reverse enlargement” to guarantee Ukraine’s spot in the EU, even if it hasn’t met all the accession criteria — or if it faces a persistent block from Hungary.
The EU “has always been very creative in terms of finding legal and institutional workarounds to difficult situations historically,” she said, pointing to the “variable geometry” of systems like Schengen and the eurozone, which include some full EU members but not all.
Mathernová offered an analogy of Ukraine being brought into a house, “not all the rooms in the house being available immediately at the outset.”
They could continue working “with the ultimate goal of having a full membership.” She added: “My understanding is that this is what colleagues in Brussels are working on.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has consistently ruled out anything less than equal EU membership, saying in November that “it has to be fully fledged.”
However, Mathernová predicted Ukrainians would accept such an arrangement “if we don’t let various narratives and disinformation about it, like this is not a full membership, etc.,” take hold. “I think if it’s a matter of anchoring Ukraine in the EU as part of its peaceful future, I’m sure they would.”
Yet just days after the interview, Mathernová was back to documenting Ukraine’s violent present. On Facebook, with a video of her standing in the snow, she detailed a new overnight toll:
345 drones
50 missiles of various kinds
12 ballistic missiles used just against Kyiv!