Brussels – As promised by the Commission and the Council Presidency, technical work with Ukraine and Moldova on accession standards continues unabated until the formal process is finally unblocked by the lifting of Hungary’s veto on Kyiv’s path, which is also holding up Chișinău’s.
This is why two separate informal meetings with representatives of the two candidate countries were convened in Brussels on 17 March to take stock of progress on key reforms needed for EU integration and to offer guidance to both governments across all six negotiating clusters.
“We shared reflections on the next steps, without prejudice to member states’ positions,” said the Deputy Minister for European Affairs of Cyprus, Marilena Raouna, noting that technical work – launched by the Danish Presidency of the Council in late 2025 – has progressed during the first months of the Cyprus Presidency.
Following the first meetings in December – where Cluster 1 – ‘Fundamentals’, Cluster 2 – ‘Internal Market’, and Cluster 6 – ‘External Relations’ were informally opened – technical work progressed on 17 March to the remaining three negotiating clusters: Cluster 3 – ‘Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth’, Cluster 4 – ‘Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity’, and Cluster 5 – ‘Resources, Agriculture and Cohesion’.
“Even without formal negotiations being launched, [Ukraine and Moldova, ed.] are steadily coming closer to the EU by doing the groundwork and working on the acquis,” Deputy Minister Raouna added. With the formal process still at a standstill due to Orbán’s Hungary veto, the EU institutions’ goal with this effort is to waste no time on what can already be done at the technical level. As soon as all 27 member states reach political agreement, the work will advance “without further delay” with the opening of Cluster 1, “followed by the rest of the negotiating chapters.”
Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos also noted that “at the technical level, we can do all the work needed” in parallel with the decision-making process, which requires unanimity within the Council. Answering questions on how long it would take, she pointed out that the accession process “has no fixed dates,” as it is merit-based with strong conditions to be fulfilled and grounded in delivering “on both sides.” Commissioner Kos hopes that member states will be able to “deliver soon, to make the whole process formal.”
“This is a de facto position of the member states on the accession negotiations, and we take it seriously,” the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, Taras Kachka, stated during the first press conference. For Kyiv, this work “will help us move forward” with the formal opening and closing of clusters and chapters, as well as with the future draft of the Accession Treaty. “I believe this will happen very soon, and we will see many positive developments this year,” he added.
On Moldova’s side, the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Cristina Gherasimov, stressed that “our strategic objective is to maintain the momentum so that accession remains a realistic prospect within this decade.” She called on the enlargement process to deliver, noting that opening all negotiating chapters “as soon as possible” would send a “powerful signal to our citizens and to those who seek to destabilise the region.” Announcing a disbursement of around €189 million under the EU’s Growth Plan, Commissioner Kos praised Moldova as “the top performer when it comes to delivering on reforms.”
The state of EU relations with Ukraine and Moldova
Just four days after the start of Russia’s war of aggression, on 28 February 2022, Ukraine submitted its application for EU membership, with Moldova following three days later, on 3 March. On 23 June 2022, the European Council endorsed the European Commission’s recommendation to grant Kyiv and Chișinău 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 with the two countries were held on 25 June 2024 in Luxembourg. As recognised in the 2025 Enlargement Package, the screening process has been successfully concluded with both Kyiv and Chișinău.
With Hungary continuing to veto the start of Ukraine’s EU negotiations, Moldova’s accession has also been put on hold, as Chișinău’s EU process is tied to Kyiv’s through the so-called “package approach” (which has linked the two dossiers from the very beginning). While the Commission considers it possible for Moldova to complete accession negotiations by 2027, opening them “by November” this year, Ukraine’s goal is to do the same by the end of 2028, and is now expected to meet the conditions allowing the Council to open “all clusters before the end of the year.”
Once Cluster 1 – ‘Fundamentals’ is opened, the other groups of negotiating chapters can follow. The unanimous approval of all 27 EU member states in the Council is now the only step remaining.
