The Price Tag of Ukraine's EU Accession: €186B

Integrating Ukraine into the European Union could cost around €186 billion in EU funds over seven years, according to an internal note of the Council of the EU. Enlarging the EU to include other countries would impose an additional burden of approximately €74 billion on the EU budget. The note highlights the opportunities and challenges of enlargement, including a larger internal market and more political clout, but also warns about issues such as the EU's farm budget, the rule of law, and decision-making capacity. Reforms to the EU budget would be necessary and far-reaching, and the European Commission emphasized the need for a wider rethink to prepare the EU for new members.