Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Taras Kachka expressed optimism regarding the pace of negotiations for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. According to him, Ukraine expects a swift opening of all six negotiation clusters, which encompass 35 thematic chapters of EU legislation.
This is reported by Finway
Prospects for Negotiations and Integration
In Brussels, Taras Kachka noted that there are currently no obvious obstacles to opening the negotiation clusters, although specific dates have not been announced yet. He emphasized that Ukraine’s main task is to focus on closing chapters within the negotiation process, and progress is expected in this direction this year.
“I hope this (the opening of negotiation clusters – ed.) will happen quickly, although with Brussels, you can never be sure, so no one is naming specific dates. But at this moment, we do not see any obstacles. We will see what happens next. Our task is to focus on closing chapters. So I hope that this year we will hear that certain chapters can be considered closed,” Kachka stressed.
The official also noted that by next year, Ukraine could complete the closure of all chapters, after which discussions on the accession agreement to the EU would be possible. In his estimation, each subsequent year could be crucial in the negotiation process.
The Influence of Hungary and Minority Issues
Kachka expressed hope for a constructive dialogue with the future government of Hungary, noting that the country’s communication with Brussels currently appears promising. He also sees no grounds for complicating relations due to the issue of the Hungarian national minority in Transcarpathia, considering it a completely natural topic for discussion with all neighboring states.
It is worth recalling that on April 22, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced negotiations with leaders of European countries regarding the opening of negotiation clusters for Ukraine. Since June 2022, Ukraine has had official candidate status for EU membership, and unanimous consent from all EU member states is required for the formal opening or closing of each cluster.
Currently, the process of officially opening the clusters is blocked by Hungary, which does not support the relevant decision of the EU Council. After the recent parliamentary elections in Hungary, the leader of the “Tisa” party, Peter Madyar, stated that Budapest does not support Ukraine’s accelerated accession to the EU, linking the normalization of relations with Kyiv to the observance of the rights of the Hungarian minority.
President Zelensky has emphasized that establishing a clear date for Ukraine’s accession to the EU is an important component of security guarantees, and delaying this process could be used by the Russian Federation to block it.