EU's Kos Hopes to Open Two More Accession Clusters for Ukraine Next Week

The European Union's enlargement commissioner, Marta Kos, has said she hopes two additional negotiating clusters in Ukraine's EU accession process could be opened as early as next week, according to Ukrinform.

The EU is closely tracking the work of Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, particularly the passage of amendments to legislation governing the rights of national minorities. Reforms in this area have been flagged by Brussels as a condition for progress on several of the accession negotiating clusters, which group together related policy chapters that candidate countries must align with EU law.

Ukraine formally began EU accession talks after receiving candidate status, and Kyiv has pushed for an accelerated timetable despite the war with Russia. Opening additional clusters would mark a concrete step forward in the technical negotiations, even as the political timeline for full membership remains uncertain and subject to unanimous approval by all 27 EU member states.

Officials in Kyiv have repeatedly urged the EU to treat Ukraine's candidacy as a priority, framing accession as both a reform anchor and a signal of long-term Western support. Brussels, meanwhile, has tied the pace of talks to Ukraine's progress on rule-of-law, anti-corruption and minority-rights benchmarks.

No formal date has been confirmed for the opening of the new clusters, and the process remains subject to review by EU member states before any cluster can be formally opened.