EU to open technical talks on Ukraine's remaining accession negotiation clusters

The European Union will open technical negotiations on all of Ukraine's remaining EU accession negotiation clusters, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said on March 16.

"Tomorrow we take another step on Ukraine's EU reform path by opening technical negotiations on all remaining clusters," Kos said in a post to X.

The EU and its Group of Seven (G7) allies will also continue to work with Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal to upgrade Ukraine's energy system to be more resilient against Russian drone and missile attacks, she noted.

"With war raging in the Middle East, Russia hopes to find fatigue and division. At today's Foreign Affairs Council, I stressed that we must prove the opposite," Kos said.

Kyiv and the bloc could sign an EU accession agreement in 2027 even before Ukraine meets all requirements, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Taras Kachka said on March 16, according to Ukrainian outlet Freedom.

In 2025, Ukraine reached 84% of progress under the Association Agreement signed with the EU, he said.

The agreement was signed in 2014 following Ukraine's EuroMaidan Revolution and set the groundwork for aligning Kyiv with the bloc.

"The Commission remains firmly committed to advancing Ukraine's accession to the European Union and supporting the rapid progress of key reforms. Despite Russia's ongoing aggressive war, Ukraine also remains firmly committed to its path to EU accession, having successfully completed the screening process and advanced on key reforms," Kachka said.

Hungary continues to veto the opening of accession clusters, the next stage in the process of joining the bloc. In turn, Ukraine has an agreement in place with the EU to maintain Kyiv's progress despite Budapest's opposition, Kachka told reporters in September.

Amid reports that Ukraine could join the EU as soon as 2027, Kos on Feb. 13 said that there is no shortcut to joining the bloc.

"Let's have this discussion, with one baseline — full membership comes only after full reforms," Kos said.

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