European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos stated that technical work to initiate clusters within the negotiation framework for Ukraine’s EU membership is ongoing. To launch the first Fundamentals cluster, three political decisions are required; Kos elaborated on the decision-making process for opening negotiation clusters following an informal breakfast centered on Ukraine’s EU accession.
“The screening report was sent to the European Council on January 17, and to open the Fundamentals, we need three unanimous decisions from the Council: confirmation of the European Commission’s screening report, confirmation of the fulfillment of the conditions (benchmarks), and receipt of the Commission’s opinion,” Kos explained.
Overall, 150 unanimous decisions from the Council will be necessary over the entire course of the negotiations.
Swedish Foreign Minister Jessica Rosencrantz noted, “Today we are working to support Ukraine in 25 out of 35 negotiation chapters. This meeting is a crucial step in ensuring that we can continue the negotiations to open the first cluster this spring, preferably in March.”