European Commission hopes to open three negotiation clusters for Ukraine’s EU accession by June
Pravda Ukraine
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos has announced during a joint meeting of the European Commission and the Ukrainian government that the Commission hopes to open three clusters of Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations by the end of Poland’s EU Council presidency in June.
Source: European Pravda correspondent
Details: The joint session between the European Commission and the Ukrainian government, an unprecedented format in relations with a candidate country, is taking place in Kyiv on Monday, 24 February, to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Responding to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal’s call for the swift opening of all clusters, Marta Kos confirmed that European plans align with Ukraine’s.
Quote from Kos: “Just like Ukraine, we aim to achieve significant progress as quickly as possible, and we are working at full speed to open negotiations on the first clusters in the first half of 2025.”
More details: Kos emphasised that several steps still need to be taken to open all six clusters but predicted that this could be achieved by the end of 2025.
Quote from Kos: “We hope to open Clusters 1 (Fundamentals), 2 (Internal Market) and 6 (External Relations) during Poland’s presidency, leaving us six more months to open the remaining three clusters.
A lot of work needs to be done to achieve this – on both sides.”
Read also: Easing martial law, reforms by 2027: what the EU expects of Ukraine on its path to membership
Background: Earlier on Monday, Kos reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to Ukraine’s accession. Notably, just a month ago, her forecasts were more cautious.
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