While Russia bombs Kyiv, Ukraine moves closer to Europe

(CN) — As Russian missiles and drones pounded Kyiv overnight, Ukraine crossed another frontier Monday, opening the first chapter in what could become one of the European Union’s most consequential enlargements in decades.

At a conference in Luxembourg, EU member states and Ukraine opened the first group of accession talks, known as the “Fundamentals” cluster. The move shifts Kyiv from candidate status to the practical work of aligning its laws, courts and institutions with EU standards.

Ukraine applied to join the bloc days after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. For Kyiv, membership is more than a bureaucratic exercise: it is a way to cement democratic reforms, deepen economic ties and anchor the country in the West as Moscow seeks to pull it back into its orbit.

“We came here to hold the second intergovernmental conference,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka told reporters on arrival in Luxembourg. “This conference takes us, opens the first cluster of fundamentals, into the practical, final stage of negotiations on accession to the European Union.”

Kachka used a school analogy to explain the milestone, comparing the opening of the cluster to “finishing the 9th grade and entering the 10th grade,” while full EU membership would be like “entering a higher educational institution.”

The Fundamentals cluster covers the core reforms the EU wants addressed first, including judicial independence, democratic institutions, anti-corruption measures, public procurement and financial oversight. It opens first and typically closes last, making it a key driver of the overall accession process.

Kachka said Ukraine spent the past two years screening its laws, preparing negotiating positions and drafting reform plans requested by Brussels. “We have wasted no time in these two years,” he said.

The timing added urgency to the meeting. Ukrainian officials said Russia launched a large overnight missile and drone attack on June 15, with Kyiv among the hardest-hit areas. The assault damaged the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a historic Orthodox monastery and UNESCO World Heritage site. Russia denied striking the complex, blaming a Ukrainian air-defense missile.

Against that backdrop, Kachka said the talks were about more than reform. “The opening of clusters is important from a security perspective and as a security guarantee for Ukraine,” he said.

EU governments broadly support Ukraine’s membership bid, though not with equal urgency. Poland, the Baltic and Nordic countries and Germany have been among its strongest backers, viewing Ukraine’s accession as vital to Europe’s long-term security and stability.

France and the Netherlands have been more cautious, backing closer ties while warning that membership must depend on reforms rather than sympathy or wartime politics.

Kachka made clear Kyiv is not looking for a halfway house. Monday’s decision, he said, shows that “our only goal together with the European Union is full-fledged accession to the EU, there are no other alternatives.”

Hungary had been the main obstacle to Ukraine’s accession talks. Former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán repeatedly invoked the EU’s unanimity rule to delay Ukraine-related decisions, arguing Kyiv had not done enough to protect ethnic Hungarians in the western Zakarpattia region.

Following a change of government in Budapest this spring and a new minority-rights agreement, member states finally approved opening the first cluster.

Kachka said he does not expect fresh tensions with Hungary.

“We have achieved the main thing with Hungary,” he said, describing Ukraine’s approach to minority rights as “common, constructive and acceptable.”

Attention now turns to whether Ukraine can deliver on its reform commitments. The Fundamentals cluster covers judicial independence, anti-corruption efforts, public procurement and financial oversight, with progress measured against formal EU benchmarks.

Transparency International Ukraine said the opening is far more than a symbolic milestone because those reforms are now tied directly to the accession process. “Opening Cluster 1 is not the end of Ukraine’s reform journey but the beginning of a more demanding phase,” the group said. It cited ongoing anti-corruption investigations and a procurement law aligned with EU standards as key achievements that helped move Ukraine forward.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the opening “significant political and moral support for our state and our people,” while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described enlargement as “our best investment in our shared future.”

At a press conference after the meeting, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos called Monday “the single biggest step towards Ukraine’s EU membership since opening negotiations in December 2023” and said a secure Europe “can only work with a strong, prosperous and stable Ukraine.” She added that Brussels expects member states to move ahead with the remaining negotiating clusters before the end of the summer.

Kachka struck a similarly ambitious note, calling the decision “a Rubicon, a milestone” and describing EU membership as “a very strong security guarantee” for a country still fighting Russia’s invasion.

The road ahead remains long. Every negotiating cluster must eventually win unanimous backing from all 27 member states, and Ukraine still faces years of legislative and institutional changes before membership becomes possible.

Kyiv, however, wants to move quickly. Kachka said the remaining five clusters are ready to advance and predicted that “We will complete the opening of all clusters in July.”

Hours after another Russian attack on Kyiv, Monday’s meeting brought Ukraine closer to the Europe it says it is fighting to join.

Courthouse News reporter Eunseo Hong is based in the Netherlands.