Yulia Svyrydenko: Opening negotiations under Cluster 6 marks another step on Ukraine’s path to the EU

Ukraine is taking another important step towards full membership of the European Union. The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU Member States has endorsed the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine under Cluster 6: External Relations, Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko announced.

“This clears the way for us to move to the practical stage of negotiations in another key area of the accession process,” the Prime Minister said.

The cluster covers areas that are of key importance to the security of Ukraine and Europe as a whole, including foreign policy, security and defence, trade, humanitarian assistance, and development cooperation.

The Prime Minister stressed that Ukraine’s alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy has reached 98%. This assessment has been submitted to the European Commission as part of the accession process.

“I thank all EU Member States for their support and close cooperation. We now look forward to the formal opening of Cluster 6 at the Intergovernmental Conference on 14 July,” Yulia Svyrydenko said.