EU Completes Screening of Half Clusters in Ukraine Accession Talks

The process of screening the compliance of Ukrainian legislation with the European one as part of the negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU has reached the halfway point, European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier has said.

The Gaze reports on this with reference to European Pravda.

According to him, the report on cluster 1 ‘Fundamental Issues’ has already been submitted to the EU Council, reports on clusters 2 ‘Internal Market’ and 6 ‘External Relations’ will be ready by the end of June, and the full screening will be completed in autumn 2025.

Mercier noted that as part of the EU accession negotiations with Ukraine, the European Commission's screening report on cluster 1 is already ready, reports on clusters 2 and 6 will be sent to the EU Council by the end of Poland's EU presidency in June, and the remaining three reports on the remaining clusters will be submitted by the end of 2025, during the Danish presidency.

‘Since the start of the accession negotiations, Ukraine has demonstrated remarkable commitment, consistently making progress on key reforms despite the ongoing war. The Commission has ensured the fastest screening process in history - we have already passed more than halfway and the process should be completed in autumn 2025,’ said the spokesperson.

‘As for the opening of negotiations on Cluster 1, the EU Council has a decisive role to play. And there is a consensus among the 26 EU member states (out of 27 - Ed.) to move forward with the opening of negotiations on cluster 12,’ he said.

Answering the question about Hungary's continued blocking of the opening of negotiating cluster 1 of the ‘Fundamentals’ for Ukraine, as well as possible ways to overcome the Hungarian ‘veto’, the spokesman stressed that ‘the Commission, together with the Polish presidency of the EU, is working to find solutions’.

‘We also have to take into account the individual concerns that exist in certain Member States. That is why the Commission is making personal efforts to facilitate a dialogue between Hungary and Ukraine on the situation of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine,’ said Mercier.

He added that ‘all parties involved should show goodwill and willingness to compromise’.

The European Commission spokesperson also spoke about the screening process for other clusters, which is ongoing in parallel.

‘As of today, the screening of half of the clusters has been completed: the report on cluster 1 was submitted to the EU Council on 16 January 2025; reports on clusters 2 and 6 will be submitted to the EU Council during the Polish presidency (by the end of June 2025 - Ed.); the screening of the remaining clusters will be completed, and the relevant reports will be submitted to the EU Council by the end of 2025 - during the Danish presidency,’ he said.

He also reminded that the screening process itself ‘will last until the autumn of 2025’. 

‘Given the pace at which the screening is taking place, the Commission believes that all clusters can be opened this year - subject to the approval of the Member States,’ Guillaume Mercier summed up.

As The Gaze reported earlier, EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova has expressed her admiration for the way Ukraine has managed to successfully implement reforms and resist Russian military aggression at the same time.