The EU and Ukraine have agreed to establish a dedicated joint Task Force to accelerate progress on interim accession benchmarks following the opening of two additional negotiating clusters, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos announced on Saturday, Oct. 17.
Writing on X, Kos stated that Ukraine ranks among the candidate nations making the fastest progress toward EU membership.
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The European enlargement chief confirmed that she reviewed upcoming integration steps during bilateral consultations with Ukraine’s Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi.
“Ukraine is among the countries making most progress towards EU membership,” Kos stated.
“Following the opening of two more negotiating clusters this week, I discussed the next steps with PM Koretskyi. We agreed to launch a joint Task Force to accelerate progress on the interim benchmarks and advance essential rule of law and anti-corruption reforms.”
Kos emphasized that advancing the accession process requires political cohesion within Ukraine, pointing to recent legislative actions adopted by the Verkhovna Rada.
“Our success will require unity and commitment from all involved Ukrainian partners,” Kos added.
“We saw this earlier this week when the Ukrainian parliament adopted the new education laws on minorities.”
— Marta Kos (@MartaKosEU) October 16, 2026Ukraine is among the countries making most progress towards EU membership.
Following the opening of two more negotiating clusters this week, I discussed the next steps with PM @KoretskyiUA.
We agreed to launch a joint Task Force to accelerate progress on the interim benchmarks…
Anti-graft statutory reforms and financial compliance
The acceleration of accession benchmarks coincides with broader legislative efforts by Ukrainian authorities to dismantle organized financial crime networks and satisfy statutory obligations tied to international financial aid and macro-financial stability.
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