Ukraine to start provisionally closing EU accession chapters in 2027
Ukraine aims to have a draft EU accession treaty in 2028 (photo: Getty Images)
Ukraine expects to begin provisionally closing the first EU accession negotiating chapters in 2027 and complete negotiations by the end of 2028, Ambassador to the EU Vsevolod Chentsov said at a briefing.
"For the first time in our history, we are discussing our negotiation process in such specific and clear terms, and we have very clear, so to speak, timelines. Of course, much will depend on various circumstances, and I want to stress that we are still operating under extraordinary conditions," he said.
The ambassador noted that Ukraine is among the four leading candidate countries and understands how to move forward.
According to him, the country has made good progress in nine negotiating chapters: free movement of goods, financial services, digital transformation and media, agriculture, energy, taxation, science and research, education and culture, and the Customs Union.
"And when we talk about the possibility of provisionally closing the relevant chapters, these are precisely the areas I have mentioned, which are at the most advanced stage of readiness. This means we can begin provisionally closing chapters as early as 2027," Chentsov stressed.
Completing the negotiations in 2028
The ambassador said Ukraine needs to focus on issues related to the justice system and law enforcement reform.
"The next step is closing the relevant chapters, which means adopting the legislation required across all areas of our work. At the government level, we plan to organize this work so that the bulk of the legislation is adopted throughout 2027, the coming year. I repeat, this applies to all chapters of the negotiation process," he said.
Chentsov stressed that only after this would Ukraine be able to receive an assessment from the European Commission, and the conclusions would serve as the basis for preparing a draft accession treaty.
"So 2028 is, of course, a very ambitious but achievable goal for us, and everything depends on us," the ambassador concluded.
Earlier, the European Commission released its report on Ukraine's progress toward EU membership. It highlighted significant reforms and the fulfillment of conditions for opening three negotiating clusters, despite the war.
Notably, the European Union has opened four of the six negotiating chapters in Ukraine's accession process. However, Hungary continues to block the opening of the other two.
