Ireland Aims to Open All Remaining EU Accession Clusters for Ukraine by Year-End

Ireland, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, aims to open all remaining negotiating clusters in Ukraine’s accession talks before its term ends, Irish Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence Thomas Byrne said on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Byrne made the remarks speaking during a press conference in Luxembourg after the fourth intergovernmental conference on Ukraine’s EU membership.

“The presidency’s ambitious goal is to open the remaining clusters,” Byrne said according to Interfax-Ukraine. “The Ukrainians have also made enormous efforts to open these clusters, so we will continue to work actively with the member states,” he continued.

The bloc formally opened two additional negotiating clusters on Tuesday, after the move was agreed upon by all 27 member states on Monday, Oct. 12.

The decision came hours after Ukraine adopted a minority education law that Hungary had demanded in exchange for lifting its veto that blocked its accession bid for months.

What the new clusters cover

There are six clusters in total that organize the legal and institutional reforms Ukraine must adopt and implement in order to formally join the EU.

The second accession cluster, internal market, covers the free movement of goods, services, workers and capital, along with EU rules on competition, financial services, company law and consumer protection.

According to the European Council, the competitiveness and inclusive growth cluster covers areas including taxation, economic and monetary policy, industry, digital transformation, employment, education, research and customs.

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The current clusters have been opened after months of stagnation. Hungary had blocked Clusters 2 and 3 four times, with its fourth refusal on Sept. 8.

Byrne acknowledged that some EU countries still have reservations about the next steps. “In some cases, member states raise certain issues that need to be resolved,” he said, adding that his team had worked with Ukraine and the European Commission to address each concern.

Only two clusters left

On June 15, Ukraine and Moldova opened Cluster 1 – Fundamentals, and Cluster 6 – External Relations on July 14.

Accession negotiations cover 33 chapters grouped into six clusters. With Clusters 2 and 3 formally opened on Tuesday, only two clusters remain: Cluster 4 – on the green agenda and sustainable connectivity, and Cluster 5 – on resources, agriculture and cohesion.

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Vselovod Chentsov said Kyiv expects the EU to judge its progress on merit and believes both can be opened this year.

“We see no obstacles to this happening by the end of this year, and we look forward to in-depth discussions with the European Commission and member states within the negotiation process to find balanced solutions, even in such specific areas as agriculture,” he said.

The European Commission previously proposed limiting Ukraine’s access to EU farm subsidies and markets for sensitive products even after accession, which Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi rejected on Tuesday, Oct. 5. by saying that Kyiv cannot accept permanent restrictions.

During the same press conference on Tuesday, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos reiterated that Ukraine would join the bloc’s agricultural policy under a special model, with its grain exports continuing to go mainly to its traditional markets in North Africa, Asia and the Middle East rather than to the EU.

The exact terms will be set by member states during talks on Cluster 5.

Europe’s aim remains to protect its farmers “and at the same time help Ukraine sell its products on traditional markets,” according to a separate report from Interfax-Ukraine.