BRUSSELS – Ukraine and Moldova advanced in their European Union accession process on Tuesday, opening Cluster 6 “External Relations”, which consists of two negotiating chapters. This step was made following the opening of Cluster 1 “Fundamentals” last month.
Ukraine and Moldova have thus opened two clusters so far in their negotiations with the European Union, with four more remaining to be opened.
Cluster 6 consists of Chapter 30 – External relations and Chapter 31 – Foreign, security and defence policy. Chapter 30 covers the EU’s common commercial policy, humanitarian aid and development cooperation, requiring alignment with the EU’s trade legislation, international commitments and related external policy positions.
Thomas Byrne, Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs of Ireland, which holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, stated that the opening of Cluster 6 with Ukraine “is a testament to the country’s commitment to move forward as quickly as possible”.
“In today’s challenging times, enlargement is a strategic investment in peace and security, stability and prosperity for both the EU and Ukraine”, Byrne said.
When it comes to Moldova, Byrne assessed that this country was a “reliable partner for our Union, as demonstrated by the remarkable progress the country has made since securing candidate status”.
Marta Kos, European Commissioner for Enlargement, wrote on X that both for Ukraine and Moldova, external relations are a strong aspect of their candidacy. She pointed to the military experience and innovation capacities of Ukraine and Moldova’s experience of successfully countering hybrid threats.
The Clusters were opened as part of the “Super Tuesday”, which involved four accession conferences with candidate countries – the first time this has happened in a single day since the early 2000s. In addition to Ukraine and Moldova, Montenegro held a conference to close two negotiating chapters, while Albania closed three.
