EU to start technical preparation for opening clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine on Friday

The EU Council's working group on enlargement (COELA) will on Friday, 17 July, officially begin reviewing the screening results for clusters 2 and 3, marking the first step in technical preparations to open these clusters in accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. This development follows the opening of the 6th cluster "External Relations" for Ukraine on 14 July, as confirmed by the EU. However, sources from European Pravda caution that no major news should be expected until the end of summer; the process will intensify in early September when COELA resumes work on 1 September. Before the summer break, the group has only one more scheduled meeting on 22 July.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Taras Kachka, assured after the opening of the sixth cluster that the remaining four clusters will not be postponed until after the summer. Meanwhile, the European Union has published a document outlining the common position on the criteria for closing the 6th cluster. Interestingly, Hungary, previously skeptical, has considered agreeing to open two more clusters, signaling a potential shift in member states' stances. Overall, this technical preparation is a crucial phase on Ukraine's path to EU membership, each step bringing it closer to that goal.