Two more chapters of Ukraine’s EU membership talks could open within days. European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said so at a Brussels press conference after the EU-Moldova Association Summit, as reported by Ukrinform. The next two clusters for Ukraine and Moldova, she said, could open at intergovernmental conferences in Luxembourg the following week.
One step comes first. Kos said she knew the procedures in the Verkhovna Rada but hoped lawmakers would adopt the law amending legislation on national minorities. After that, member states would need to speed up the opening of the further clusters.
Praise, and a reminder
Kos said Ukraine and Moldova were both delivering results in very difficult circumstances and ranked among the leaders of the four candidate countries. She asked people not to forget that Ukraine is fighting for its survival while also carrying out reforms. It needs extra funds for its budget and its army, she said, and no other country in the world was doing more.
Kyiv’s own view is that the groundwork is done. Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Vsevolod Chentsov has said Ukraine met every condition for opening the clusters and expects technical negotiations to start by the end of 2026.
A new model for candidates
Kos said details of the proposed path for candidate countries would appear in the Enlargement Report, due on October 28. Media reports say the Commission wants to offer candidates, Ukraine among them, unprecedented access to the Single Market and research programmes before they become full members. The proposal is a fundamental overhaul of enlargement policy built on “gradual integration”: barrier-free trade and a place in EU programmes as reforms advance. Ukraine, Moldova, Albania and Montenegro are proposed as priority countries for “roadmaps” toward closer integration.
