EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos expects to open five more negotiation clusters for Ukraine within the EU accession process as early as July, following the opening of the first one on Monday—totaling 6 by the end of July—as she stated upon arriving at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Monday, UNN reports.
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"So today will indeed be, or is, a mega-day or a mega-Monday for the enlargement process. We will take the first major step for Ukraine and Moldova since they received candidate status in 2023. So, finally, finally, we will be able to open Cluster 1 for both countries. Why? Because they have fulfilled their obligations. (...) And if they have fulfilled their obligations, we must also fulfill ours," Kos noted.
"That is why I expect that we will open all the remaining 5 clusters in July, and that is also good news,"
When asked if the EU and Ukraine are ready for this, Kos pointed out: "Yes, thanks to the so-called frontloading in the past, as you know, we unofficially opened the cluster before the start last November, so with the frontloading process at the technical level, we are ready."
"Of course, as you know, we need to get the green light from the member states to be able to proceed, but I am positive," the European Commissioner emphasized.