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The opening of the first accession negotiation cluster, “Fundamentals,” marks a Rubicon for Ukraine, signaling the transition of EU membership talks into the practical phase of concluding negotiations and closing chapters, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka said at a press conference following the EU–Ukraine Accession Conference in Luxembourg, UATV English reports.
“For us, this is truly a Rubicon, an important milestone, a moment when accession negotiations move toward their completion — their successful completion — and toward the closing of chapters,” Kachka said.
He congratulated Ukraine on the achievement and thanked EU member states and the current EU Presidency for securing unanimous support for the decision.
Kachka described EU membership as a strong security guarantee for Ukraine and noted that the decision reflects a positive assessment of the reforms Ukraine has implemented in areas such as the rule of law, anti-corruption policy, judicial reform, statistics, and other sectors covered by the “Fundamentals” cluster.
According to him, Ukraine must now focus on fulfilling all remaining benchmarks and reform commitments.
“This is not a starting point. It is a continuation of a long-term structural reform process that we began many years ago and have carried out under very difficult circumstances,” Kachka concluded.
As previously reported, Kachka said that following the opening of the first cluster, the remaining five accession negotiation clusters are ready for formal consideration and could be opened within the coming weeks.
Read also: Zelenskyy Urges EU to Accelerate Ukraine’s Accession As Response to Russan Attacks
