Fact Check: Ukraine hopes to open six accession negotiation clusters this year.

Fact Check: "Ukraine hopes to open six accession negotiation clusters this year."

What We Know

On January 15, 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine has an "ambitious goal" to open five or six EU accession negotiation clusters in 2025. This statement came during his official visit to Warsaw, where he indicated that Ukraine could potentially open two or three clusters in the first half of 2025 under Poland's rotating presidency and three more in the second half under Denmark's chairmanship (Kyiv Independent).

Ukraine applied for EU membership shortly after the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 and achieved candidate status within months. The formal negotiations for EU accession are set to begin in June 2024 (RBC-Ukraine). The six negotiation clusters consist of various chapters that prepare candidate countries for EU membership (Kyiv Independent).

Analysis

The claim that "Ukraine hopes to open six accession negotiation clusters this year" is misleading. While President Zelensky did express an ambitious goal to open five or six clusters, he specifically mentioned that this would occur in 2025, not in the current year (Kyiv Independent). The timeline indicates that Ukraine aims to open two or three clusters in the first half of 2025 and the remaining clusters later in the year (Kyiv Independent).

The sources cited are reliable and provide a consistent narrative about Ukraine's EU accession process. The Kyiv Independent and RBC-Ukraine are reputable news outlets that focus on Ukrainian affairs and have reported on the EU accession process extensively. However, the original claim appears to misinterpret the timeline set by Zelensky, suggesting an immediate action rather than a planned goal for the following year.

Conclusion

Verdict: False. The claim that "Ukraine hopes to open six accession negotiation clusters this year" is inaccurate. President Zelensky's statements clarify that the goal is to open these clusters in 2025, with specific timelines for the first and second halves of the year. The confusion arises from the phrasing of the claim, which implies immediate action rather than a future objective.

Fact Check: Ukraine hopes to open six accession negotiation clusters this year.