European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos expects that, provided Ukraine and Moldova meet the necessary requirements, the European Union will open the remaining five negotiation chapters for them as early as July.
"If they deliver [their obligations], we should deliver too. That’s why I expect that we will open all the rest of five clusters in July, and this is also good news," she said during a press briefing in Luxembourg on Monday, where intergovernmental conferences with Ukraine and Moldova are taking place, at which the first negotiation cluster on EU accession will be opened.
Kos called this Monday a "mega-day for the enlargement process," as it marks the first major step for Ukraine and Moldova since they received candidate status in 2023.
Regarding the discussion on various options for the EU enlargement procedure, the European Commissioner welcomed the fact that such a discussion is taking place, but emphasized that under any scenario, full membership will only be possible after member states have fulfilled all requirements.
"Finally, we are having the discussion I have long wanted to have, also together with the member states, meaning: if the enlargement process is mot made for today’s environment, what kind of methodology could we have? So, we need this discussion," Kos said.
She noted that there is "no half-membership or quarter-membership; there is only full membership."
According to her, two very important principles are currently being discussed: the merit principle and a wide range of options for what can be done in the area of gradual integration.
"And that is what we are looking for now – how to enhance this part of the accession process," the European Commissioner said.
