Brussels is developing an alternative scenario for launching accession negotiations with Ukraine that would bypass Hungary.

European Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari has announced that on 22 May the Commission adopted a list of transitional measures concerning Ukrainian exports to the EU, which will take effect on 6 June 2025.

On 22 May 2025, the European Parliament approved a regulation raising customs duties and tariffs on agricultural products and nitrogen-based fertilisers from Russia and Belarus to levels designed to halt their import into the European Union.

Czechia may conduct training exercises for the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Ukrainian territory as part of providing security guarantees after hostilities cease and a decision is made to deploy Western troops in Ukraine.

During the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague, member states of the Alliance will discuss military support for Ukraine to ensure that it is in the strongest possible position to continue its fight and that any peace deal after the end of hostilities will be lasting.

Marta Kos, European Commissioner for Enlargement, has announced that Ukraine has already completed the screening of three negotiation clusters for EU accession talks.

The 18th package of European Union sanctions against Russia, which the EU has already started working on, may include restrictions on banks from non-EU countries that support the Russian defence industry and army, in addition to Russian banks.

The European Union plans to impose sanctions on the operators of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, which transport Russian gas to Europe, to eliminate any future investment interest.

European Union ambassadors approved the 17th package of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday 14 May.

The European Commission plans to maintain sanctions pressure on Russia, preparing an 18th package of EU sanctions against Russia after the approval of the 17th package.

The European Union expects that the Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin will be ready to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday 15 May, and is also prepared to impose additional sanctions on Russia if a ceasefire is not achieved.

The European Union may impose sanctions on the consortium operating the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if Russia fails to start a ceasefire as planned.

The European Union continues to insist that any peace talks can only begin after Russia unconditionally agrees to cease fire.

Ukraine and the European Union have established a Ukraine–EU Task Force to expand cooperation between European and Ukrainian defence industries.

The European Union will allocate an additional €900 million from extraordinary revenues generated by frozen Russian assets for the purchase of weapons and ammunition for Ukraine, increasing the EU’s recent total support for Ukraine’s defence industry to €3.3 billion.