Ukraine's EU accession talks could advance significantly in 2027, diplomat says
Ukraine's Ambassador to the EU Taras Kachka (photo: facebook.com/taras.kachka)
Ukraine is actively working on the negotiation clusters for EU accession. There is a possibility that they could be closed as early as next year, Ukraine's Ambassador to the EU, Taras Kachka, said at the event "Beyond the Headlines: Assessing Ukraine's Progress as an EU Candidate Country."
Timeline for closing the negotiation clusters
Kachka noted that Ukraine could follow the example of countries that have successfully joined the European Union.
"We can take Slovakia as an example. We can draw on Lithuania's experience, which shows that all the work needed to adopt the necessary acquis communautaire (the body of EU law – ed.) can be completed within 12–18 months," the ambassador said.
According to him, it is important to take into account that Ukraine has already made progress in certain areas of EU accession.
"Take food safety and energy, for example. Our level of preparedness is actually very high, and our ability to make decisions based on European rules has been established for quite some time, is well developed, and everything is properly traceable," Kachka clarified.
Speaking at the event, he expressed confidence that next year "we will be discussing closed chapters."
Kachka previously said that Hungary had requested a few days to agree to the opening of the final two negotiation clusters between Ukraine and the EU. Kyiv hopes for a positive decision.
In addition, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Vsevolod Chentsov stated that Ukraine would begin provisionally closing negotiation clusters in 2027.
The negotiation process for Ukraine's accession to the EU is expected to be completed by the end of 2028.
The EU would open all six negotiation clusters as part of Ukraine's accession talks by the end of this year. This was stated by EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová.
