Brussels – The EU enlargement super-day begins with the opening of two additional negotiating chapters for Ukraine, while awaiting the Accession Conferences of Montenegro, Moldova and Albania. “We have not seen anything like this in more than two decades – the last time was in 2002. This is a Super Tuesday for EU enlargement, and Ukraine is part of it,” said Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.
With the opening of Cluster 6 – ‘External Relations’ – comprising Chapter 30 (External Relations) and Chapter 31 (Foreign, Security and Defence Policy) – at the third Accession Conference with Ukraine on 14 July, the number of chapters opened for negotiation rises to seven (out of 33). “These are the areas in which Ukraine’s cases of EU membership are very strong,” Commissioner Kos recalled, highlighting that “the future European security architecture is unimaginable without Ukraine.”
However, there is a sense of unfinished business following the opening of just one negotiating cluster, while the Commission confirms that “they are all technically ready – Ukraine has met all the conditions.” This is why the responsible for enlargement policy in von der Leyen’s College of Commissioners made it clear that “the next step should be to proceed with opening the remaining four negotiating clusters as soon as possible.”
In this sense, she called for a “commitment” from the 27 leaders during the European Council’s discussions on enlargement in October. “It would help a lot,” Commissioner Kos continued, explaining what she expects when talking about supporting the accession process with concrete actions: “Something like we experienced in Helsinki in 1999,” when EU leaders committed to being ready to welcome new members “from 2002 onwards, as soon as they fulfilled the criteria.”
“This is another reminder of the importance of the common defence and security policy in the current world,” Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Taras Kachka, stressed in his remarks after the second Accession Conference in less than a month. “Russia always tries to overshadow the good news with another ballistic missile strike tonight.”
According to the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, “progress can be made from one day to the next”, and there are still high hopes for the next steps. “No one [in the Council, ed] is objecting to the opening of the remaining clusters – we expect discussions to move forward.” Despite Hungary – and several other member states behind Budapest – still slowing down Kyiv’s accession process, “we believe that all the remaining clusters will be opened as soon as possible thanks to the front-loading,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the rotating Presidency of the Council, Irish Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne confirmed Dublin’s support for opening all the negotiations in the next six months. “We cannot predict when it will happen, but a Super Tuesday was not imaginable just a couple of months ago.” For this reason, “we have to work to reach consensus” while “keeping the momentum” on EU enlargement.
Commissioner Kos echoed his words, praising the work already carried out just 14 days into the Irish Presidency. Being one of the EU’s enlargement “success stories” – having undergone “a profound transformation” after accession and now “leading Europe in many areas” – Ireland’s experience is clearly understood in Brussels as “visibly shaping your approach to our candidate countries.”
Something similar, despite taking place under completely different conditions, is hoped for Kyiv. “An independent Europe needs a strong, prosperous and stable Ukraine as part of our Union,” Commissioner Kos stressed, also referring to the strengthening of Europe’s industrial base and the reduction of strategic dependencies. A case in point was the 2026 Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk, Poland, “where close to 1,000 investors and business leaders came to look for opportunities in one of Europe’s most promising future growth markets.”
Hungary no longer blocks Ukraine across the board – as it did under Viktor Orbán – following the “comprehensive agreement” with Kyiv on expanding the rights of the Hungarian minority in the Transcarpathia region. Yet, Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar warned that the EU “cannot bypass” the Western Balkans “with a different kind of enlargement process” for Ukraine and Moldova.
The opening of Cluster 1 – ‘Fundamentals’ on 15 June was expected to mark a turning point in the decoupling of the “package approach” that has tied the two accession dossiers together since the membership applications were submitted in 2022, allowing each candidate to be assessed strictly on its own merits. However, “in practice, that is not the case,” a diplomatic source told The New Union Post, confirming that, at the political level, “there is a link – until there is no longer one.”
Decoupling will happen “when, de facto, it becomes clear that it has happened – when one moves faster and the other more slowly,” another EU source explained. As The New Union Post understands, after the summer break the Irish Presidency of the Council will seek to open one cluster at each General Affairs Council meeting from September to December, with the aim of opening all negotiations with both candidates before the end of the year.
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.
With Viktor Orbán‘s Hungary vetoing the start of Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations, the process stalled for two years. On 17 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 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. To date, seven negotiating chapters have been opened.
