The European Commission Confirms the Necessity of Reforms for Ukraine

• The EU emphasizes the importance of reforms for Ukraine regardless of negotiations.
• The opening of the first cluster requires unanimous decision from all EU member states.
• Kos discussed anti-corruption reforms with Ukrainian officials.

This was reported by Ukrayinska Pravda, Ukrinform, Ukrinform.

The European Commission confirmed that opening the first negotiation cluster in the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU requires a unanimous decision from all 27 member states. Independently of this process, Ukraine is recommended to continue implementing reforms.

On September 26, during a press conference, the speaker of the European Commission, Paolo Gentiloni, stated that the opening of clusters requires unanimity from all member states. He emphasized that the reforms being carried out by Ukraine are significant, and their implementation brings results, even if the opening of clusters is delayed.

Additionally, on September 26, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, held a video conference with the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Taras Kachka, to discuss Ukraine's progress in reforms and issues related to EU accession. Kos also met with the heads of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) to discuss the results of their work.

At the briefing, the representative of the European Commission, Markus Lammerth, noted that the main method of assessing progress is the accumulation of intermediate results in the process of Ukraine's accession, including the necessary reform order. He did not provide a clear answer to the question about the possibility of "technical" opening of negotiation clusters without a political decision from all 27 member states.

Moreover, Kachka emphasized that the separation of Ukraine and Moldova in the EU accession process could hinder integration, which is important for both countries.

Tags: Ukraine/Europe/Politics