NATO enlargement: Ukraine

At its summit in Washington in July 2024, NATO described Ukraine’s path to membership as “irreversible” and reaffirmed the view adopted at its 2023 summit that Ukraine’s future “is in NATO”. However, the Alliance did not extend an invitation to Ukraine to join; that will be when Allies “agree and conditions are met”.

Ukraine has sought membership for many years. In 2008 NATO said Ukraine “will become a member” of the Alliance. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, President Zelenskyy said he had formally requested an “accelerated accession” to join NATO.

What does Ukraine want?

Ukraine has long aspired to membership of NATO. In 2008, at its summit in Bucharest, NATO welcomed Ukraine, and Georgia’s, aspirations for membership, and agreed that they "will become members of NATO".

In 2019 Ukraine's constitution was amended to include the goal of “fully-fledged membership” of NATO.

In September 2022 President Zelenskyy said he had formally requested an "accelerated accession" to join NATO. He is also calling for concrete security guarantees from NATO allies until it can join the Alliance.

What happened at the 2023 Vilnius summit?

The question of Ukraine’s membership had been a major talking point in the lead up to the 2023 Vilnius summit, with Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy calling on NATO to provide a clear timeframe and security guarantees ahead of membership.

At that summit, NATO waived the need for a Membership Action Plan for Ukraine. This process has been used in the past to help countries prepare for membership.

NATO also established a NATO-Ukraine Council, a joint body to provide for joint consultations, decision-making and activities. Allies also agreed at the summit a “substantial package of expanded political and practical support” to bring Ukraine closer to NATO. Long-term security guarantees were offered outside of the NATO framework by the G7 member states on the sidelines of the summit. Commons Library paper Security guarantees to Ukraine discusses this in more detail.

Then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, addressing the House of Commons after the summit, said NATO “took a big step in Vilnius towards bringing Ukraine into the alliance”, shortening Ukraine’s path to membership by removing the need for a membership action plan. Sir Keir Starmer, then Leader of the Opposition, endorsed the Government’s position, saying “the question is not if Ukraine joins NATO, but when Ukraine joins NATO.”

What happened at the 2024 Washington Summit?

NATO held its summit in Washington on 9-11 July 2024.

The summit declaration made clear the significance of Ukraine and the outcome of the conflict to NATO:

A strong, independent, and democratic Ukraine is vital for the security and stability of the Euro-Atlantic area. Ukraine’s fight for its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders directly contributes to Euro-Atlantic security.

NATO did not extend a formal invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance. Instead, it affirmed that Ukraine’s future “is in NATO” and described Ukraine’s path to NATO membership as being “irreversible”. The declaration suggested Ukraine still has work to do, on interoperability, and democratic and security sector reforms.

The summit focused more on what assistance NATO could provide to Ukraine, describing the decisions the Alliance took as constituting a “bridge” to Ukraine’s membership in NATO. These decisions include:

• Establishing a NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine to coordinate the provision of military equipment and training for Ukraine by Allies and partners. Commons Library briefings military assistance to Ukraine since the Russian invasion and detailed timeline of UK military assistance to Ukraine provide further information on military assistance so far.
• A pledge of long-term security assistance for Ukraine, to provide military equipment, assistance and training. Allies intend to provide a “minimum baseline funding of €40 billion within the next year”. Further background can be found in Commons Library briefing security guarantees to Ukraine.
• Establish a NATO-Ukraine joint analysis, training and education centre to identify and apply lessons from the conflict and increase Ukraine’s interoperability with NATO.

How do countries join NATO?

NATO has an “open door” policy and any European country is eligible to join NATO.

NATO operates on consensus, meaning all existing members must agree before inviting an aspiring country to join.

The only requirement for any applicant is that they are in a position to further the principles of the founding 1949 Washington Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area.

Of particular relevance to Ukraine's aspirations for membership is the need to settle territorial disputes.

Countries interested in joining the Alliance are usually invited to join the Membership Action Plan (MAP) process. This is not obligatory, and neither Finland nor Sweden used the MAP process for their recent applications to NATO.

NATO decided in Vilnius that Ukraine did not need to undergo the MAP process, saying “Ukraine’s path to full Euro-Atlantic integration has moved beyond the need for the Membership Action Plan”.

This paper discusses in more detail the decisions made at the Vilnius and Washington summits. More detailed information on the accession process can be found in Commons Library briefing How do countries join NATO?.

Further analysis of the situation in Ukraine can be found on the Library's Conflict in Ukraine webpage.