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We estimate the total direct cost of Ukraine to current EU members via the regular EU budget at €19bn per year (Photo: EU Commission)

Ukraine's accession is affordable — but corruption is the worry

It is often assumed that, if Ukraine does become a European Union member, it would place enormous strain on the EU budget. This perception might be an obstacle to the country's accession, but such fears are exaggerated.

The impact on the EU budget would be manageable, with little change to the large net payments obtained by current net beneficiaries.

Assuming the current EU budget rules are applied and there are no transition periods — which is unlikely — we estimate the total di...

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The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s, not those of EUobserver

Author Bio

Zsolt Darvas is a senior fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, and at Corvinus University of Budapest. He is a co-author of the report 'Ukraine's path to European Union membership and its long-term implications'.

We estimate the total direct cost of Ukraine to current EU members via the regular EU budget at €19bn per year (Photo: EU Commission)

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Author Bio

Zsolt Darvas is a senior fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, and at Corvinus University of Budapest. He is a co-author of the report 'Ukraine's path to European Union membership and its long-term implications'.

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