Brussels – Ukraine has taken a further step towards joining the European Union. The EU opened negotiations on the clusters relating to the internal market, competitiveness, and inclusive growth on 13 October in Luxembourg. These comprise 17 of the 33 negotiating chapters envisaged by the accession process. The decision, announced at the conclusion of the fourth EU–Ukraine intergovernmental conference, broadens the scope of the negotiations and brings the number of clusters open with Kyiv to four out of six.
The latest progress concerns two key areas for the country’s economic integration into the European market. The internal market cluster comprises nine chapters, covering the free movement of goods, workers, services and capital, as well as competition rules, financial services, company law, intellectual property and consumer protection. The cluster on competitiveness and inclusive growth, on the other hand, comprises eight chapters, ranging from taxation to economic and monetary policies, as well as industry, employment, digital transformation, research, education, and the customs union.
The opening of the two clusters allows negotiations on these areas to begin. Still, it does not mean they have been concluded: the process will require further reforms and the alignment of Ukrainian legislation with the EU acquis, the body of EU rules and standards. The Council has already set out the benchmarks for the future provisional closure of the chapters in question. Progress will be assessed based on the results achieved and the effective implementation of European rules.
Thomas Byrne, the Irish Minister for European Affairs and Defence, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, highlighted the significance of this development. The decision, he said, “marks another step on Ukraine’s path to accession and recognises Kyiv’s determination to press ahead with reforms despite the difficult conditions arising from the war with Russia.”
The go-ahead comes after Hungary lifted its reservations, which related in particular to the protection of the rights of national minorities. On 12 October, the Ukrainian Parliament approved legislative amendments on education, extending guarantees for teaching in minority languages. The resolution of this impasse has enabled Member States to proceed with the opening of the new clusters.
The negotiations entered the operational phase in June 2026, with the opening of the cluster on fundamental issues, which encompasses the rule of law, fundamental rights and the functioning of democratic institutions. This was followed in July by negotiations on external relations, covering, among other areas, trade policy and the common foreign, security and defence policy.
Kyiv’s progress is part of a broader acceleration in the enlargement process, which in the same week also involved other candidate countries. The intergovernmental conferences on 12 and 13 October also saw further progress for Podgorica and Tirana. At the same time, Moldova has also opened negotiations on the internal market and competitiveness and inclusive growth clusters.
Brussels aims to speed up the process for candidate countries and, at the same time, prepare the Union for an enlargement that could alter its institutional and financial balance. In the package presented on 6 October, the European Commission identified four countries at an advanced stage of accession – Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, and Moldova – and proposed reducing the risk of deadlocks in negotiations by considering the use of qualified majority voting for certain interim decisions. This is a particularly significant issue for Kyiv, whose progress has been hampered by Hungarian opposition. Enlargement, however, concerns not only the candidate countries; it also requires Brussels to rethink European governance, common policies, and the multiannual budget to enable a larger Union to function.
The opening of negotiations does not, however, set a date for accession to the Union. Accession remains conditional upon compliance with European criteria and the completion of the required reforms. For Ukraine, this new step represents a substantial expansion of the negotiations, while work continues to bring the country into line with the rules of the single market and EU standards.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
