The European Union intends to significantly accelerate Ukraine’s integration process, setting a final goal — to open all main negotiation clusters by 2025 to facilitate Ukraine’s full accession to the European community
This ambitious statement has become one of the key topics in recent political discussions within the European Parliament, with the initiative coming from the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. In her speech in Strasbourg, she emphasized that the European Commission is working on creating the conditions for opening all political, economic, and legal steps necessary for signing and implementing Ukraine’s accession agreement to the EU in 2025. According to the head of the European executive body, active work is already underway to open the first negotiation cluster, and by the end of next year, all six clusters are planned to be open and making progress. “We are working hard to open the negotiation clusters with Ukraine one after another. This is not just a technical issue, but part of our historic mission — to support the country in its pursuit of European integration and peace,” said von der Leyen. She added that in Europe’s history — since the founding of the Union — peace and the desire for closer integration have gone hand in hand, and that is why it is essential to ensure Ukraine’s path to membership, which will serve as a guarantee of its security and stability. “Let’s take this step together and open the doors for Ukraine into the EU. We must walk the path of peace and harmony,” urged the European Commission leader. She concluded her speech with words of support and inspiration for Ukrainians, wishing them: “Glory to Ukraine! Long live Europe!” It should be noted that the goal of opening all clusters by 2025 is extremely ambitious and is based on political will and support from both the European Union and Ukraine. However, there have been serious obstacles along this path. Particularly significant is the position of Hungary, which has repeatedly demonstrated opposition to Ukraine’s rapid integration. Budapest recently initiated a consultative referendum among its citizens regarding Ukraine’s accession, and publicly, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has expressed open opposition to a swift acceptance of our country. As is known, the conflict with Budapest hinders progress in the accession process — especially since these issues involve not only technical aspects but also political considerations. Despite the ambitious plans, the actual actions and developments will depend on how well all parties can agree on their interests to facilitate the completion of Ukraine’s European integration process. Thus, at a time when global politics focus on peacekeeping initiatives and the protection of Ukraine’s security, the European Union reaffirms its commitment to support our country as quickly as possible on its path toward membership. This decision could become not only a historic step in regional cooperation and the European community but also an important signal of peace and stability across Europe.