- ENG.UATV.UA - A La Une - 25/Jun 10:43

Ukraine Prepared to Begin EU Accession Negotiations

As Western allies remain uncertain about offering Ukraine NATO membership after the war, Kyiv is placing greater emphasis on joining the European Union. In line with this, the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers has endorsed a set of roadmaps for the "Fundamentals" negotiation cluster. On May 16, 2025, the Cabinet approved four individual roadmaps outlining key policies within this initial cluster of accession talks. Read more about this in the article by Igor Popov, head of United Ukraine Think Tank, expert on political and security issues for The Gaze. Firstly, the expert explains that EU accession talks are organized into thematic clusters, which bring together related chapters from the acquis communautaire — the comprehensive body of EU laws and standards. There are six such clusters, covering areas like the internal market, competitiveness and inclusive growth, the green agenda and sustainable connectivity, agriculture and resources, external relations, and the fundamentals. The fundamentals cluster includes key areas such as the rule of law, democratic institutions, public sector reform, and economic benchmarks. Progress within each cluster shapes both the pace and depth of the negotiations, serving as a key measure of a candidate country's preparedness for membership. This cluster-based system was officially introduced in 2020 under the European Commission’s revised enlargement methodology. The aim was to make the accession process more transparent, reliable, and efficient. This updated approach was developed in response to concerns that earlier enlargement efforts were too slow and fragmented. By thematically grouping the negotiation topics, the EU sought to streamline the process, enhance political guidance, and promote earlier implementation of core reforms aligned with EU values. Secondly, Popov draws our attention to the following issues: The primary objective of this plan is to take a holistic approach to reforming Ukraine’s public administration in line with SIGMA principles and European administrative standards. The main priorities include clarifying the distribution of responsibilities among state institutions, aligning civil service human resources practices with merit-based principles, and advancing digital governance. The strategy also focuses on enhancing the quality of policy-making through the introduction of a full policy cycle — including formulation, impact assessment, and results-based analysis. By the end of 2025, the government aims to update its methodology for decision-making and implement a monitoring system to track public policy execution across central executive bodies. Thirdly, political specialist argues that Ukraine completes screening phase with positive assessment from EU. Following the completion of the screening phase — which spanned from autumn 2023 to spring 2025 — the European Commission released its assessments on three negotiation clusters, establishing Ukraine’s initial positions in the accession talks. Alongside the "Fundamentals" cluster, the Commission reviewed Ukraine’s technical readiness in the areas of the “Internal Market” and “Competition and Green Transition.” This marks the first instance in EU enlargement history where a country engaged in war has shown such a high level of preparedness to begin negotiations on complex policy areas. According to internal European Commission documents shared within relevant directorates, the findings on Ukraine are described as “generally positive.” The reports highlight progress not only in legal alignment but also in institutional development across all three clusters. For example, in the internal market cluster, Ukraine has adopted reforms to competition laws, harmonized technical standards, and improved the operations of the State Food and Consumer Service. In the green transition area, Ukraine has updated its National Energy Plan and laid the groundwork for an emissions trading system — key components of the acquis communautaire. These Commission reports serve as the legal foundation for the European Council to make a political decision to launch formal accession negotiations. The technical groundwork is complete; the next step now depends on the political will of EU member states. Finally, Popov sums up that although Ukraine has shown strong technical readiness for EU accession talks, political challenges remain — the most significant being Hungary’s stance. Budapest has previously exercised its veto power on multiple occasions, blocking decisions related to financial aid for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. Officially, Hungary cites concerns over the rights of the Hungarian minority in the Zakarpattia region. However, this is widely seen as a pretext for broader political motives: asserting Prime Minister Orbán’s independence from Brussels and leveraging Ukraine’s EU aspirations in negotiations with the EU over Hungary’s frozen funds. Read the full article by Igor Popov on The Gaze: Ukraine is Ready to Start EU Membership Talks Read more: NATO Summit 2025: Will the Alliance Stand with Ukraine? The post Ukraine Prepared to Begin EU Accession Negotiations appeared first on Freedom.