Ukraine completes preparations for all EU accession negotiation clusters
On December 19, Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers approved negotiating positions on the final two EU clusters. This means Kyiv has completed all required internal procedures to open all six clusters of accession talks with the European Union.
The update was published on the European integration portal, Censor.NET reports.
Negotiating positions
The government approved negotiating positions this week for Cluster 4, "Green agenda and sustainable connectivity," and Cluster 5, "Resources, agriculture and cohesion policy."
The negotiating positions are key documents on which the European Commission will base its assessment of Ukraine’s progress in meeting membership criteria. They were prepared taking into account European Commission reports following the screening of Ukrainian legislation.
Commitments
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka said Ukraine had fulfilled all commitments within a tight timeframe. He said the screening was completed over the year and reform roadmaps were developed and their implementation launched, allowing the country to move to the next stage of negotiations.
Cluster 4 covers transport, energy, trans-European networks, the environment and climate policy. Cluster 5 focuses on agricultural policy, food security, veterinary and phytosanitary controls, fisheries, regional policy, and financial and budgetary issues.
Ukraine is now awaiting further decisions from European partners to formally launch talks in these areas.
