All negotiation clusters for Ukraine’s accession to the EU are ready and could be opened by mid-July, according to Taras Kachka, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Kyiv with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Secretary General Mathias Cormann on Tuesday, Kachka said no additional decisions are required to launch the process.
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“To open the clusters, we do not need to adopt any additional decisions; all five of them are ready for opening,” Kachka said.
The EU officially opened the first negotiation cluster with Ukraine and Moldova on June 15 as part of the accession process.
Kachka added that Ukraine expects EU member states to begin processing them immediately, with a goal of opening all five clusters before the summer recess.
According to him, the procedure now depends on coordination among the 27 EU member states within the Committee of Permanent Representatives.
Kachka said Ukraine sees broad political support across the bloc and that the timeline is now mainly a technical issue of implementation speed.
He also disclosed a possible timeframe for accession, adding that past enlargement experiences suggest the process could take around two to two and a half years once negotiations are fully underway.
“At the same time, Ukraine… is prepared for accession to the EU much better than those countries that covered this path in two to two and a half years,” he said.
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Kachka added that Ukraine’s internal goal is to complete all benchmarks by 2027 and be ready to conclude an accession treaty.
Both Ukraine and most EU member states agree that accession by 2030 remains achievable with Kyiv continuing its reform program at pace, according to him.
Opposition from Budapest
However, Hungary has delayed a key procedural step in the EU accession processes of Ukraine and Moldova, casting doubt on Kyiv’s plan to open all negotiation clusters by mid-July.
According to EU diplomats cited by Politico, Budapest blocked the sending of a joint letter to the European Council and Commission that would have confirmed unanimous backing from all 27 member states.
EU accession requires full unanimity, and Hungary remains the only country opposing the fast-tracking format.
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar argued that opening all six clusters at once would be premature and send the wrong signal to Western Balkan candidates that have waited years for progress.
Hungary has long been the main obstacle to Ukraine’s accession talks, with earlier opposition under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán tied in part to concerns over the rights of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region.
Decisions on advancing further clusters are expected to be discussed in the coming week.
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