Ukraine's EU accession talks get official start date — Euractiv

According to a senior EU official, the European Commission will present a proposal to open the first cluster of chapters on June 16 at a meeting of European ministers in Brussels as part of the General Affairs Council.

This schedule will allow EU leaders to finalize this step at the European Council meeting, which will take place two days later.

The remaining negotiation clusters for Ukraine and Moldova are expected to be opened in July.

The accession process itself consists of six so-called clusters, which cover various areas of EU law.

The first of these concerns the fundamental democratic, economic, and institutional pillars of the Union—it is opened first but closed last.

Unanimous support from all 27 member states is required to approve each stage.

Hungary's position shift

Previously, Budapest significantly hindered Ukraine’s progress toward European integration.

Former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán consistently blocked any steps Kyiv took toward the EU, but after 16 years in power, his government was ousted following the March elections in Hungary.

The country's new Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, is taking a more measured approach. Although his government does not explicitly support Ukraine’s membership, Budapest is ready to make compromises in exchange for the release of European funds that were frozen due to violations of EU law during the Orbán era.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos previously noted that negotiations could begin as soon as the transition of power in Hungary is complete—likely during Cyprus's EU presidency, which will last until the end of June.

Membership terms discussed

The exact parameters of Ukraine's future membership are still under discussion.

In particular, the following alternatives have been considered:

• Associate membership. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested the possibility of Ukraine’s integration without full voting rights, but Kyiv rejected this idea.
• Accession to the EEA. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide rejected the option under which Ukraine could join the European Economic Area (like Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein) as an intermediate stepping stone to the EU, calling such a scheme too specific and complex.

Ukraine’s path to EU and Kyiv’s position

Recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine's presence in the EU must be full-fledged and comprehensive, rejecting any interim or hybrid integration formats.

According to him, Kyiv continues active diplomatic efforts at all levels to bring the final stage of accession as close as possible.

At the same time, Brussels itself is urging that the process not be artificially delayed. In particular, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola stated that Ukraine must be in the EU, and the bloc itself is obligated to match the pace of Ukrainian reforms with a similar tempo and open negotiation clusters without reference to alternative models of cooperation.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian side has already completed all necessary internal procedures.

Earlier, the head of state confirmed that Ukraine was technically ready to open all six negotiation clusters with the European Union and expects these tracks to be launched as soon as possible.