Reanimation package of reforms > News > Statements > Appeal to the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of EU Member States
23 April 2025
Ensuring Consensus among EU Member States about the opening of Cluster 1, Fundamentals, for Ukraine
Your Excellencies, Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the EU Member States, with deep respect for ongoing efforts to support Ukraine’s EU membership, we would like to appeal to you with a request to reinforce efforts towards building a consensus among EU Member States for the opening of Cluster 1, Fundamentals, for Ukraine.
We firmly believe that European integration instruments have proved to be effective and have transformative power for Ukraine. The signing of the Association Agreement in 2014 led to major changes in Ukrainian legislation, bringing it closer to the EU acquis. One of the key factors that made it possible is the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA), granting Ukrainian companies access to the EU Single Market. This access has proved to be the most potent transformative instrument in redirecting Ukrainian business from the Russian market to that of the EU. Furthermore, the granting of the candidate status to Ukraine in 2022 provided an impetus for other reforms, including in the fields of justice and media. Nevertheless, Ukraine’s integration in the EU currently faces challenges, as bilateral issues might obstruct the overall accession negotiation process.
Reforms in the framework of Cluster 1, Fundamentals, are essential to enhancing democratic transformations in Ukraine. Moreover, they are vital to us as citizens of Ukraine. For these reasons, the reforms must get impetus and require close attention from the EU as soon as possible. Ukraine needs to keep up its current rate of European reform implementation with Cluster 1, Fundamentals, to have enough time to perform all the tasks properly. As civil society representatives, we are committed to monitoring the implementation of these reforms, ensuring their effectiveness in practice. We fully support the idea that the accession process should follow a merit-based methodology. To this end, we stand ready to cooperate with EU Member States by providing our analytical reports on the accession negotiation process.
Taking concrete steps forward in the accession process and maintaining a credible prospect for full EU membership serves as a strong motivator for Ukrainian politicians to implement reforms effectively and to full extent. The Ukrainian Government has developed the necessary Roadmaps for the opening of Cluster 1, Fundamentals, with involvement from civil society representatives who have contributed their comments and proposals. At this stage, Ukraine has completed its “pre-accession homework”. However, moving forward now requires approval and support of the EU Member States for it to officially open Cluster 1, Fundamentals. This decision will benefit Ukraine as a candidate country and the EU as a whole.
The list of signatories:
The Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition
