EU's Kos says two new accession clusters for Ukraine and Moldova could open next week
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said on 5 October in Brussels that two additional EU accession negotiation clusters for Ukraine and Moldova could be opened as early as next week. The move is conditional on Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada, the country's parliament, passing a bill on education in the languages of national minorities, which Hungary has demanded. The two clusters cover the internal market and competitiveness and inclusive growth.
Key points
- European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said on 5 October in Brussels that two new EU accession negotiation clusters for Ukraine and Moldova could open as early as next week.
- The clusters cover the internal market and competitiveness and inclusive growth.
- Opening is conditional on the Verkhovna Rada adopting a bill on education in the languages of national minorities, expected to be voted on 12 October.
- A planned Intergovernmental Conference in Luxembourg next week could formally open the clusters.
- Financial Times reported that Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar instructed diplomats not to block the procedural step; Hungary's full support still depends on the education bill.
- After these two clusters, two would remain — on the green agenda, agriculture and cohesion — with the European Commission hoping to open all clusters for both countries by year-end.
- The European Commission will publish its annual enlargement report, including a detailed assessment of Ukraine's reform progress, on 28 October.
Why it matters
Opening clusters 2 and 3 would mark the first concrete advance in Ukraine's formal EU accession talks since June, after months of Hungarian blockage. The conditionality — a Verkhovna Rada vote on the national-minorities education bill on 12 October — makes the next week a political test for Kyiv and a potential turning point in Budapest's position.
What happened
At a press conference in Brussels on 5 October after the EU-Moldova Association Council meeting, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said two additional EU accession negotiation clusters for Ukraine and Moldova could be opened as early as the following week. The clusters — Internal Market and Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth — would normally be opened at an Intergovernmental Conference in Luxembourg. Kos stressed that the opening is conditional on the Verkhovna Rada adopting a bill on education in the languages of national minorities, which Hungary has demanded. The bill, developed with Hungarian input, was registered in the Verkhovna Rada on 1 October and is expected to be voted on 12 October. Financial Times reported that Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has instructed diplomats not to block the procedural letters, though Budapest's full political support still hinges on the Verkhovna Rada vote. After these two clusters, two would remain (green agenda, agriculture, and cohesion), and the European Commission aims to open all clusters for both Ukraine and Moldova by the end of 2026. A detailed assessment of Ukraine's reform progress is due in the Commission's annual enlargement report on 28 October.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian coverage frames the announcement around the Verkhovna Rada's 12 October vote as the decisive next step, and highlights Vice Prime Minister Vsevolod Chentsov's claim that Kyiv has already met all conditions and expects technical negotiations to begin by end-2026. Ukrainian outlets also note the reported softening from Budapest while stressing that Hungary's full support still depends on passage of the education bill. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha has publicly linked adoption of the legislation to the unblocking of the two clusters.
Where reporting differs
Source spellings of Ukraine's prime minister vary across the supplied facts: 'Serhiy Khoretsky' versus 'Serhiy Koretsky'.
Background
The first EU accession negotiation cluster (Fundamentals) with Ukraine and Moldova was opened on 15 June in Luxembourg, and the sixth cluster on external relations was opened on 14 July. Hungary has repeatedly blocked or refused to approve the screening results of clusters 2 and 3 — on 17 July, 22 July and 8 September. In June 2026, Hungary lifted a previous 17-month veto on Ukraine's accession after a change of government in Budapest. The 33 negotiating chapters are grouped into six clusters and require unanimous approval by all 27 EU member states to be closed.