Ukraine aims to open EU agricultural accession negotiations cluster by the end of 2026

Ukraine hopes to open the final two negotiating clusters in its European Union accession process — Clusters 4 and 5 — by the end of 2026, one of which covers the agricultural sector. According to Ukraine’s representative to the EU, Taras Kachka, Hungary has not raised any new substantive objections to the process but has requested additional time to review the relevant documents.

Negotiating Cluster 5 covers agriculture, fisheries, regional policy and budgetary matters. Its opening would mark an important stage in Ukraine’s European integration, as it involves further aligning national legislation and regulatory mechanisms with EU rules in these areas.

Earlier, on October 20 and 27, Hungary did not support the approval of screening results for Clusters 4 and 5 during meetings of the EU Council’s Working Party on Enlargement (COELA) in Brussels. However, Kachka stressed that describing the situation as an outright blockade of negotiations would be inaccurate, as Budapest has not raised any fundamental demands or objections but simply wants to examine the documents in greater detail.

Ukraine’s representative to the EU also noted that the issue of national minorities’ educational rights, which had previously caused tensions between Kyiv and Budapest, has already been resolved. Ukraine expects further progress in the accession negotiations and hopes to open the remaining clusters without additional political delays.

Ukraine maintains its goal of completing EU accession negotiations in 2027–2028, or even earlier if reforms accelerate. Kachka acknowledged delays in adopting EU integration legislation in the Verkhovna Rada but attributed them to difficult wartime conditions, including air raid alerts and Russian attacks on Kyiv, rather than any deliberate slowdown in the European integration process.

Tags: EU, agricultural sector, Ukraine