**Ukraine to Open Two EU Accession Clusters in 2025**
The European Union is set to open two accession clusters for Ukraine during the first half of 2025. This news comes under Poland’s presidency of the EU Council, which began on January 1, 2025.
These clusters are part of the process of preparing Ukraine to join the EU. Accession negotiations are divided into clusters and chapters. The “Fundamentals” cluster includes chapters on the judiciary, fundamental rights, public procurement, and financial control. The “Internal Market” cluster covers consumer and health protection, free movement of goods and capital, free movement for workers, intellectual property law, and other areas.
Ukraine’s goal is to open all EU negotiation clusters by 2025. President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized Ukraine’s commitment to advancing its EU accession process in a recent speech. He said that during Poland’s presidency, they expect to open at least two clusters and six in total, with the aim of opening all clusters next year.
The European Commission has praised Ukraine’s progress in areas such as judicial reform, the rule of law, and anti-corruption measures. If Ukraine successfully implements necessary reforms, it could potentially join the EU by 2029, according to the EU’s Commissioner for Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi.
Ukraine was granted EU candidate status in June 2022, with accession talks launched in December 2023.