The first round of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU could begin in June

The first negotiation cluster, “Fundamentals,” could be officially opened as early as June 2026 during Cyprus’s presidency of the Council of the EU. 

This was announced by European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos at the Ukraine-EU Business Summit in Brussels, according to Ukrinform. She noted that all necessary benchmarks for this phase have already been prepared.

The Commissioner’s optimism is bolstered by political changes in Hungary. Marta Kos noted that signals from the future Hungarian Prime Minister are positive, raising hopes that the process will be unblocked after the formation of a new government in Budapest. The action plan calls for opening the remaining clusters by the end of 2026—still during Ireland’s presidency.

Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka confirmed Kyiv’s readiness for intensive work, emphasizing that Ukraine sees no technical obstacles to opening all chapters. The government considers the main task for this year to be not only opening but also closing the first chapters of negotiations. This will lay the foundation for moving on to discussions of the Accession Treaty as early as 2027. The “Fundamentals” cluster is key, as it covers issues of the judiciary, security, and fundamental human rights.

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

Ukraine may temporarily forgo 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.