European Union ambassadors have taken the next procedural step toward opening two further negotiation clusters for Ukraine and Moldova to join the political and economic bloc.
On October 7, the envoys agreed to send letters to the governments in Kyiv and Chisinau signalling preparations to open the clusters covering the internal market and competitiveness.
Member states plan to agree on joint negotiating positions on October 12, paving the way for the two clusters to officially open the following day.
Minority rights bill
However, further progress for Ukraine relies on the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, passing new legislation concerning the educational rights of national minorities.
The proposed bill aims to amend existing laws to guarantee education rights for indigenous peoples and national communities within Ukraine.
This legislation is designed to resolve a primary issue that led Hungary to block the opening of subsequent negotiation clusters for Ukraine. The Hungarian government in Budapest has indicated it will withdraw its objections to the two new clusters if the Ukrainian parliament approves the law.
Hungary has long maintained an interest in the rights of ethnic Hungarians living in western Ukraine, frequently raising the issue of minority language education in its relations with Kyiv.
Luxembourg conferences
Marta Kos, the European Union enlargement commissioner, said on October 5 that the commission was aware of the parliamentary procedures in Kyiv and hoped the law would pass.
Speaking after an Association Council meeting between the European Union and Moldova in Brussels, she noted that member states would need to accelerate their own processes once the Ukrainian bill was approved.
The commissioner suggested the next two clusters for both Moldova and Ukraine could open the following week during intergovernmental conferences in Luxembourg. The small European nation regularly hosts meetings of European Union ministers.
Accession process
The lengthy process of joining the European Union requires candidate countries to align their national laws with European standards across dozens of policy areas, which are grouped into six broad thematic clusters.
Ukraine and Moldova, which both sought European Union membership following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have already opened two of these six clusters.
They opened the first cluster, which covers the fundamental principles of the accession process, in June. They subsequently opened the sixth cluster, focusing on external relations, in July 2026.
If the internal market and competitiveness clusters open as planned, Ukraine will have two remaining clusters to address before the negotiation phase is complete.
These final two sections cover the green agenda and sustainable connectivity, alongside resources, agriculture and cohesion.
