EU opens accession negotiations with Ukraine

The EU today held the first Intergovernmental Conference at ministerial level to open accession negotiations with Ukraine.

This follows the decision by the European Council on 14-15 December 2023 to open accession negotiations with Ukraine, and the approval by the Council of the Negotiating Framework for the negotiations with Ukraine on 21 June, in accordance with the revised enlargement methodology.

The EU delegation was led by Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Belgium, accompanied by Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi. The delegation of Ukraine was led by Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna. Prime Minister Denys Chmyhal addressed the Conference from Kyiv.

“This is a historic day for Ukraine and the EU,” said Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Belgium, representing the Belgian Presidency at the Council of the European Union. “The road to reach this point has been challenging and Ukraine’s determination to undertake the necessary reforms has been truly impressive. The accession negotiations we open today will be rigorous and demanding. With determination and commitment, we are confident that Ukraine can bring them to a successful conclusion. The future of Ukraine and its citizens lies within the European Union.”

At the press conference, Olha Stefanishyna thanked the European Commission for making sure that “very justified conclusions have been made that Ukraine has delivered on its commitments” and the Belgian Presidency for “mobilising the unity of all 27 EU member states.”

“To reach this day, Ukraine, the Ukrainian government has been engaging in a very inclusive dialogue with Ukrainian civil society, think tanks, and it is only possible to be here today because we are supported and enabled by Ukrainian Armed forces, every Ukrainian who stands for Ukraine, who stands with Ukraine and helps us to move forward,” Stefanishyna told journalists.

Olivér Várhelyi said that the European Commission’s role is to make sure that Ukraine will be “well prepared, including on important issues such as the rule of law, fundamental rights, socio economic policies, the whole wide spectrum of the EU acquis when it will join the European Union”.

“We will launch now the bilateral screening of the EU acquis and it will allow us to Identify all the major issues to be addressed during the negotiations, as well as the areas where preparations need to be intensified,” Várhelyi said at the press conference.

The EU has now invited the Commission to continue to assess the state of preparedness of Ukraine for opening negotiations in specific areas and identify the issues that will most likely come up in the negotiations, starting with the fundamentals’ cluster which, in accordance with the Negotiating Framework, will be opened first.

“As a future member state, Ukraine will be expected to continue to adhere to the values listed in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, namely the respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities,”says a press release by the Council of the EU.

Find out more

Press release

Press conference (video)

EU Enlargement policy: Ukraine

What is the screening process and how does it work?

EU accession process step by step

The European Union and Ukraine