Ukraine's government still hopes to open first EU accession cluster by July

Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, believes that Ukraine will be able to open at least one negotiating cluster before the end of Poland's presidency of the EU Council. Source: European Pravda, citing Stefanishyna in an interview aired on the national 24/7 joint newscast on Thursday 1 May Details: During a visit to Budapest, Stefanishyna referred to the publicly confirmed agreement with the European Commission that "all negotiating clusters will be opened this year".

"A great deal of work has been done by the European Commission and the Polish presidency.

Unfortunately, the process has not yet been unblocked. But the Ukrainian delegation is working here [in Budapest]," she said. Stefanishyna said she is confident that the Polish presidency may still conclude with at least some of the negotiating chapters opened.

Poland's six-month presidency of the EU Council ends in June 2025.

Background:

• Ukraine and the EU Commission initially had ambitious plans for the pace of accession talks in 2025, but the process has been hindered by Hungary's veto.

  Recently, there have been indications that Moldova and Ukraine could be separated on their path to EU membership.

• Following talks in Budapest on 29 April, Ukraine and Hungary agreed to hold regular consultations to address bilateral issues.

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