Ukraine could gain access to the EU's internal market in 2027

Rapid progress in EU accession negotiations will allow Ukraine to seek deep integration into the single market as early as next year. 

This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka during the Ukraine-EU Business Summit in Brussels, Interfax-Ukraine reports. According to him, there are currently no obstacles to opening all six negotiation clusters, which is a necessary condition for the subsequent signing of the Accession Treaty.

The Ukrainian side is focused on closing 34 chapters and fulfilling 145 criteria, for which a National Program with nearly 1,800 measures has already been developed. Kachka expressed hope that the first results regarding the closure of individual chapters will be announced by the end of 2026. Successful fulfillment of technical requirements will make it possible to legally enshrine Ukraine’s participation in the EU’s internal economic area in 2027, even before officially acquiring full membership.

Despite the complexity of bureaucratic processes in Brussels, Kyiv is demonstrating a high pace of legislative adaptation. The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that integration into the EU market is a priority that will ensure economic recovery and stability. Implementation of the National Program remains the government’s main task for the next two years. Collaboration with European partners aims to shorten the negotiation process as much as possible.

Ukraine hopes that the European Union will open all six negotiation clusters regarding the country’s accession as early as this year, and also anticipates the possibility of closing at least one of them by the end of the year. 

Ukraine may temporarily forego some of the benefits of EU membership to accelerate the accession process. Taras Kachka noted that such a step would help Ukraine integrate into the EU more quickly.