EU may not open all negotiating clusters for Ukraine in July due to lack of time

Tetyana Vysotska, STANISLAV POHORILOV - 17 June, 14:54

Ukrainian and EU flags. Photo: Getty Images

The European Union may not open all negotiating clusters for Ukraine in July 2026, as sought by the Ukrainian authorities, due to a lack of time for the necessary negotiations and approvals.

Source: European Pravda, citing four unnamed EU diplomats

Details: The sources noted that opening negotiating clusters is a merit-based process that must follow all necessary procedures, including detailed discussions of the accession conditions for each new member state with EU member states.

The diplomats expressed doubts that these discussions would be completed by 14 July – the day proposed by Ukraine and European Commission officials as a possible date for opening the next clusters for Ukraine and Moldova.

One of European Pravda's diplomatic sources predicted that, in the coming weeks, Ukraine's mission to the EU would receive letters from the presiding country (Cyprus or, more likely, Ireland, which assumes the EU presidency on 1 July) requesting negotiation positions for each cluster, but that the actual opening of the clusters on 14 July is unlikely to take place.

Another source suggested that, if negotiations progress successfully, several clusters could be opened for Ukraine in July (European Pravda previously noted that Cluster 6, External Relations, and Cluster 2, Internal Market, are considered the least problematic), though not all of them.

Background:

On 17 June, the Working Party on Enlargement and Countries Negotiating Accession to the EU (COELA) began reviewing the screening results for all unopened clusters for Ukraine and Moldova (Clusters 2-6).
According to European Pravda, EU member states have already informally agreed on 14 July as the date for the opening of the five remaining clusters in Ukraine's accession negotiations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after speaking with G7 leaders in France that for now, "no one sees" any obstacles to all clusters being opened in the EU accession talks.

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