Ukraine has fulfilled all the conditions for opening the remaining four negotiating clusters in its EU accession talks, and this process should move forward as quickly as possible, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said at a press conference following the EU-Ukraine conference, where the parties opened Cluster 6, "External Relations."
"The next step should be to open the remaining four negotiating clusters as soon as possible. They are all technically ready. Ukraine has fulfilled all the conditions," Kos said.
Kos also stated that, in addition to technical readiness, Ukraine needs political support from member states. According to her, the European Commission expects EU leaders at the October summit to confirm their readiness to admit new countries to the Union immediately after they meet all membership criteria.
She emphasized that Ukraine already plays a crucial role in European security, and its experience in countering Russian aggression and developing modern military technologies, particularly drones, should be part of Europe's future defense architecture.
Irish Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne stated that the Irish Presidency intends to maintain the current pace of negotiations and continue working to achieve consensus among member states to open the remaining clusters.
"We are determined to make enlargement one of the key successes of our Presidency. We intend to maintain the current momentum into the autumn and achieve as much progress as possible before Christmas," he said, noting that Kyiv continues to implement reforms despite the war.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka expressed hope that the fourth intergovernmental conference will take place soon, as, according to him, all remaining negotiating clusters are already ready to open and there are no objections among EU countries to further advancing the process.
Responding to a question about the accession timeline, Kachka confirmed that Ukraine maintains its goal of adopting and implementing all necessary EU legislation by the end of 2027.
