A historic day for Ukraine’s European future!

Today, the EU and Ukraine opened the first accession negotiation cluster – “Fundamentals” – covering the rule of law, democratic institutions, public administration reform, fundamental rights, and economic criteria, and includes the following negotiating chapters:

Chapter 23 – Judiciary and fundamental rights
Chapter 24 – Justice, freedom and security
Chapter 5 – Public procurement
Chapter 18 – Statistics
Chapter 32 – Financial control

While accession negotiations were formally launched in June 2024, today marks the start of substantive negotiations on the first cluster. It is an important milestone that reflects Ukraine’s reform efforts under exceptionally difficult circumstances and demonstrates the EU’s continued commitment to enlargement as a strategic investment in Europe’s security, stability, and prosperity.

The road ahead remains demanding, but today’s step brings Ukraine closer to its goal of EU membership.

Official EU source: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/international-ministerial-meetings/2026/06/15/ukraine/