President's Office expects swift opening of first EU accession negotiation clusters

Officials at the Office of the President of Ukraine believe that the rapid opening of the first negotiation clusters regarding Ukraine's accession to the European Union is realistic and say they currently see no legal, bureaucratic or political obstacles to this.

Source: Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The official was asked whether he considered President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's expectation realistic that all six negotiation clusters on EU accession could be opened in the near future.

"These possibilities are absolutely realistic. There are simply a number of technical steps that now need to be completed. And here the role of the Cypriot presidency is important," Zhovkva said, praising the "very active position" of the president of Cyprus.

"The position of the European Commission and member states is also important. At the moment, we do not see any negativity anywhere. There is a bureaucratic process, and it has to run its course," he added.

Zhovkva noted that Ukraine had completed all its "homework" and prepared the next necessary steps regarding both the key "Fundamentals" cluster and the issue of national minorities, which is currently the subject of consultations with Hungary.

"Therefore, I do not see any legal, bureaucratic or, I very much hope, political obstacles preventing this from happening very, very quickly," he concluded.

According to Zhovkva, Hungary and Slovakia, like Czechia, will not block the launch of negotiations.

Background: Zhovkva also said he was not aware of any tension with the EU over alleged delays to reforms or discussions about Ukraine's rapid accession.

Read also: Who is the new Hungary? Why Ukraine's EU accession talks are still stalling and what comes next

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