The EU may open all negotiation clusters with Ukraine by the summer
Kaja Kallas made this statement following a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council.
Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, stated that Ukraine has made significant progress towards EU accession.
According to her, the EU should seize this opportunity and open all negotiation chapters with Ukraine by the summer.
Kallas emphasised that Ukraine’s integration into the European Union is not charity, but an investment in European security.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos stated that the first negotiation cluster could be opened during the Cypriot Presidency, i.e. by 30 June.
Regarding the other five clusters, Kos expressed hope that they would be opened in July.
What Zelenskyy said
In April, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine plans to open negotiation clusters on accession to the European Union by June.
According to him, Ukraine has fulfilled the necessary requirements, and the final decision rests with the EU.
In December 2025 and March 2026, Ukraine received the criteria for EU accession across six negotiation clusters.
Since then, Ukraine has had a full set of conditions that must be met for EU accession.
At the same time, negotiations on none of the clusters have yet begun.
How Ukraine has moved towards EU accession
Ukraine stepped up its cooperation with the European Union in 2014 following the victory of the Revolution of Dignity.
In the same year, the Verkhovna Rada and the European Parliament simultaneously ratified the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.
On 1 September 2017, the Association Agreement entered into force in full.
In February 2019, Ukraine’s strategic course towards membership of the European Union and NATO was enshrined in the Constitution.
On 28 February 2022, four days after the start of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine submitted an application for EU membership under a special procedure.
On 17 June, the European Commission recommended granting Ukraine EU candidate status and set out a number of conditions that had to be met before negotiations could begin.
On 23 June, EU leaders at a summit in Brussels granted Ukraine candidate status.
At the end of 2023, the European Union authorised the start of negotiations. Formally, they began in 2024.
However, the process has slowed down, partly due to Hungary’s stance, which is blocking the opening of negotiation chapters.
Typically, EU accession takes many years and requires the support of all member states. Therefore, even with a political agreement, the process remains long and complex.
What is known about the idea of partial membership
In February 2026, Politico sources reported that the EU was developing a plan that could grant Ukraine partial membership of the bloc as early as 2027.
According to the publication, this idea could be included in a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.
It later emerged that EU countries had largely rejected the idea of so-called “reverse membership” for Ukraine.
According to Politico sources, the EU fears that such a reform could undermine confidence in the accession process.
The publication’s sources also noted that for current EU members, admission to a bloc of wealthier countries is more attractive than expansion at the expense of poorer states, including Ukraine.
As reported by ThePublic, European political circles are discussing options for a potential peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine, including the possibility of accelerating the country’s accession to the European Union. This prospect could form part of broader agreements in the event of territorial compromises.
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