Brussels – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stepped in to urge EU leaders to complete the work formally launched on 15 June and open all five remaining accession clusters – “the next five important steps,” which would pave the way towards the goal of closing the negotiating chapters. And he does not abandon the idea of a “fast-track path” for Ukraine’s EU accession.
“I know that not everybody loves it, but sorry, I already wrote it, so I will say it,” he stated, addressing the European Council on 18 June, likely in response to some murmurs in the room. The Ukrainian president made clear that “every democratic nation in Europe deserves to be a full member of the EU” and that his country is “working as actively as possible to achieve this.”
Following the opening of Cluster 1 – ‘Fundamentals’, “it is important to open the remaining five negotiating clusters as soon as possible,” Zelensky noted, referring to the possibility that this could already happen in July. “Ukraine merits it because it has paid more than any other European country for its right to be free, independent and European,” he continued.
The remaining five “important steps” are Cluster 2 – ‘Internal Market’, Cluster 3 – ‘Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth’, Cluster 4 – ‘Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity’, Cluster 5 – ‘Resources, Agriculture and Cohesion’, and Cluster 6 – ‘External Relations’. As soon as all six clusters will be open, it will be necessary to receive a positive Interim Benchmark Assessment Report (IBAR) – meaning that the candidate has fulfilled the mid-process rule-of-law conditions that must be met before negotiations can move to the closing of chapters, one by one.
However, there is potentially another step – “the most important” one – and this is precisely a “fast-track path.” However, it is not clear how a classic accession process – involving reforms to align national legislation with the EU acquis – could be matched with a solution that would differ from those applied to all other candidate countries.
“It will not be only patting on the shoulders – there is an appetite from some leaders to discuss the next steps and new ideas,” an EU official said on the eve of the summit, referring not only to “how to go forward” in the traditional accession process, but also to recent informal proposals by the German and French leaders to bring candidate countries closer to the EU and simplify the accession process.
In light of the front-loading work carried out since March, the European Commission considers it possible to open all 33 negotiating chapters as early as July – during a so-called “Terrific Tuesday” on the margins of the General Affairs Council on 14 July. “We hope that during the summer we can open more clusters,” President Ursula von der Leyen said before the start of the European Council meeting.
The state of EU–Ukraine relations
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 conference was held on 25 June 2024 in Luxembourg.
With Viktor Orbán‘s Hungary vetoing the start of Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations, the process stalled for two years. In March 2026, technical guidance was provided by the Commission to continue work on EU reforms across all six negotiating clusters, before the change of power in Budapest brought a new momentum.
The new Hungarian government, led by Péter Magyar, reached an agreement with Kyiv on the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, paving the way for the opening of Cluster 1 – ‘Fundamentals’ on 15 June 2026.
