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Commissioner hopes to open half of the chapters in accession negotiations with Ukraine by mid-year

by AI | 25.Feb 2025 | Europe in brief AI

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, during her visit to the European Commission in Kyiv, expressed hope that in the first half of the year, half of the six thematic clusters would be opened in the accession negotiations with Ukraine.

Stop the EU and Ukraine. Photo: Christoph Reichwein/dpa

Kyiv – The Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal advocated for accelerating Ukraine’s rapprochement with the EU at a joint session of the Ukrainian government and the European Commission in Kyiv on the third anniversary of the start of Russian aggression. He called for the opening of all six clusters of negotiation chapters simultaneously. Meanwhile, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos expressed hope that three clusters could be opened in the first half of the year.

“The rapprochement of Ukraine to the European Union needs to be accelerated. We urge you to revise the existing procedures and open negotiations on all six clusters simultaneously,” Shmyhal said at the beginning of the joint session.

Commissioner Kos emphasized that numerous steps remain, but she expressed hope that during the Polish presidency of the EU Council, until the end of June, three thematic clusters of negotiation chapters could be opened. These include the first cluster on fundamental values and issues, the second on the internal market, and the sixth on external relations.

“Then we will have another six months to open the remaining three. However, we will have to work hard on both sides,” she said.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Ukraine’s progress towards the EU. She stated that if Ukraine continues to meet conditions as swiftly and qualitatively, it could join the EU even before 2030.

Ukraine submitted its application for EU membership a few days after the start of Russian aggression in February 2022, and officially began accession negotiations in June last year. Since then, it has been waiting for the opening of the first cluster of negotiation chapters, which requires the consensus of all EU member states. (February 24)