Ukraine Says No Legal or Political Obstacles to Opening Cluster 1 Accession Talks on May 26

Ukraine's Presidential Office declared on May 19 that it sees no legal, bureaucratic, or political obstacles to the formal opening of Cluster 1 ('Fundamentals') of EU accession negotiations on May 26. Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Taras Kachka confirmed Kyiv's ambition to open the 'Fundamentals' cluster by May 26 and the remaining five clusters by end of the Cyprus Presidency (June 30, 2026). Ukraine informally completed screening on all six clusters in March 2026, with the Commission confirming all were technically ready. The last procedural step is a unanimous Council decision — a hurdle cleared following Hungary's pivot to EU alignment under PM Péter Magyar. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos also reiterated that the first cluster should open before June 30 at the latest. Opening Cluster 1 would mark the first formal substantive step in Ukraine's accession negotiations since talks were launched in June 2024.