EU could open two accession clusters for Ukraine and Moldova next week — Kos

Kos made the remarks at a news conference following a meeting of the EU-Moldova Association Council, Suspilne reported on Oct. 5.

Kos said the European Union was well aware of procedures in the Verkhovna Rada related to the introduction of an education bill but expressed hope that the legislation would pass parliament.

“As soon as this happens, of course, the member states will have to speed up the procedure, but yes, it is possible that we will open the next two clusters for Moldova and Ukraine next week during the IGC,” Kos said, referring to the intergovernmental conference. “We hope to open two more clusters for Moldova very soon. And all of them by the end of the year.”

Opening negotiating clusters for Ukraine’s EU accession

The first negotiating cluster with Ukraine and Moldova, Fundamentals, officially opened in Luxembourg on June 15. On July 14, the European Union officially opened the sixth negotiating cluster with Ukraine, covering external relations.

On July 17, the EU Council Working Party on Enlargement began reviewing the screening results for the second and third clusters for Ukraine and Moldova. Hungary agreed to the third cluster for Moldova but refused to begin the process of opening the second and third clusters for Ukraine. Because Budapest’s position was not supported by a majority of member states, no decision was made on either country.

On July 22, Hungary again refused to approve the screening results for the second and third clusters for both countries.

On Sept. 1, European Pravda, citing its sources in Brussels, reported that at the first meeting of the EU Council Working Party on Enlargement, or COELA, after the summer break, the Hungarian delegation again refused to approve the screening results for clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine. On Sept. 8, the EU again failed to agree on opening two negotiating clusters for Ukraine because of Hungary.

On Oct. 2, Deputy Prime Minister Vsevolod Chentsov said Ukraine had met the requirements for opening the remaining EU accession negotiating clusters and expected to open the second and third in October and all the others by the end of 2026. He said the European Commission had confirmed Ukraine’s readiness to advance the negotiations, while Kyiv continues to meet the criteria set for EU accession.