Brussels – The ball is now in the court of the 27 EU Member States. Any further progress by Ukraine on the path towards EU membership will depend on a unanimous decision by the Council of the European Union, following the Commission’s assessment that Kyiv “has done its homework, so is ready for Cluster 1 – Fundamentals to be opened.”
As confirmed by Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos on the margins of the Foreign Affairs Ministers’ meeting in Brussels on 20 May, only the unanimous approval of the 27 governments is now needed for Ukrainian counterparts to take their place at the negotiating table. The first cluster of chapters—five out of 33—focuses on economic criteria, the functioning of democratic institutions, and public administration reform: Chapter 5 (Public Procurement), Chapter 18 (Statistics), Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights), Chapter 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security), and Chapter 32 (Financial Control).
Moreover, Commissioner Kos made it public that “last week we have sent two other screenings to the Council”—both for Ukraine and Moldova—”on Cluster 2 and Cluster 6,” highlighting that if the Commission proceeds “at this speed,” all the screenings should be completed “by autumn.” Hungary, under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, remains the main obstacle for Ukraine, as it can block the process at every stage through its veto power.
Cluster 2 – ‘Internal Market’ includes Chapter 1 (free movement of goods), Chapter 2 (freedom of movement of workers), Chapter 3 (right of establishment and freedom to provide services), Chapter 4 (free movement of capital), Chapter 6 (company law), Chapter 7 (intellectual property law), Chapter 8 (competition policy), Chapter 9 (financial services), and Chapter 28 (consumer and health protection). Cluster 6 – ‘External Relations’ covers Chapter 30 (external relations) and Chapter 31 (foreign, security and defence policy).
Ukraine’s path towards the EU
Just four days after the start of Russia’s war of aggression, on 28 February 2022, Ukraine submitted its application for EU membership. On 23 June 2022, the European Council endorsed the European Commission’s recommendation to grant Kyiv candidate status. At the European Council meeting on 14 December 2023, EU leaders gave the green light to open accession negotiations. Following the Council’s approval of the negotiating frameworks, the first intergovernmental conferences were held on 25 June 2024 in Luxembourg.
With the aim of opening the first EU accession negotiation cluster in the first half of 2025, the screening process has been ongoing since last autumn. As recognised by the Council, progress has been made in areas such as the rule of law, judicial and public administration reform—with the renewal of the judiciary being a key focus—alongside efforts to strengthen freedom of expression and media independence, and further enhance the anti-corruption institutional framework.
How the EU accession process works
The EU accession process follows a series of formal stages, all of which require the unanimous approval by the Member States. The process begins when a country wishing to join the EU formally applies for membership to the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. Membership requires an evaluation of the Copenhagen criteria (established in 1993).
Once the European Commission recommends granting candidate status, the unanimity of the Member States is required for the potential candidate to become an official candidate for EU membership. After that, the European Commission may recommend opening negotiations, which also require the unanimous approval of the Member States.
The Commission prepares the negotiating strategy, including a varying number of negotiating chapters, and the Council unanimously agrees on the negotiating framework or mandate for negotiations with the candidate, who is now a negotiating candidate. Together with the negotiating candidate, the European Commission carries out a detailed screening process of the 33 chapters of the EU acquis, before negotiations under each chapter can take place in intergovernmental conferences (IGCs).
The whole negotiation process is only concluded definitively once every chapter has been closed: no negotiations on any individual chapter are closed until every EU government is satisfied with the candidate’s progress in that policy field. Then, the Commission gives its opinion on whether the candidate is ready to become a Member State.
The Accession Treaty must be approved by the European Commission, the European Council, and the European Parliament. It is then signed by the candidate country and representatives of all EU Member States. Finally, it is ratified by the candidate country and every EU Member State, according to their own constitutional procedures.
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