After Ukraine was congratulated on the opening of cluster 1 of EU accession talks on June 15 during the second EU-Ukraine accession conference in Luxembourg, it is finally time to start productive work on the part of Ukraine, not just at the technical level, but at the official one, to fulfil the EU requirements on fundametals. Next in line is the opening of five more clusters in the negotiations, and both the Ukrainian authorities and the European Commission expressed hope that this step will be taken as early as July, that is, before the start of the summer break.

One of the main drivers of the European integration process in Ukraine on the part of the European Union and a leading champion of European values ​​is the EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova, who is celebrating her Birthday today. And precisely today, in the wake of "Megaday" in the EU enlargement process, as it was referred to in Brussels, Katarina Maternova spoke with Ukrinform to take stock of the current stage of Ukraine's European integration and outline the next steps that are critical for the realization of the long-term dream of Ukrainians for their country to become a full-fledged member of the European family.

I COULD NOT IMAGINE A BETTER BIRTHDAY PRESENT

- Ambassador, now Cluster 1 is officially open since yesterday, which must be one of the nice early presents for your Birthday today. Congratulations! We heard that the European Commission has expressed a desire to open the remaining five clusters before the summer break. Realistically, given the depth of legal alignment required, is Ukraine’s target of full EU membership by 2030 still a viable timeline, or should Ukrainians prepare for a staged integration status first?

- Thank you, indeed, I could not imagine a better present. First, I think that 2030 is very much viable time line and in being honest the clusters together will require a lot of changes, but we are now talking about opening the clusters, meaning official technical negotiations in the specific areas and I think Ukraine is ready for that.

And then the question of how quickly we will be able to conclude negotiations will often depend on a lot of legislative and other work. In terms of opening the clusters, I think that would be excellent if the idea of this summer is kept, and there is going to be enough political will to do that.

- The unblocking of the first cluster came after an agreement with Hungary’s new Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, regarding the rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine. From the EU's perspective, does Kyiv’s current legislative framework fully satisfy Cluster 1's requirements on fundamental rights, or will Brussels expect further domestic policy changes to ensure Budapest doesn't trigger a new veto down the line?

- The whole idea of opening clusters is that after the opening there is going to be still a lot of alignment that has to take place and lot of requirements, and we laid them out in the position.

There are the interim benchmarks that have to be met, but as the European Commission said over a year ago, Kyiv had to fulfil requirements for the opening of the clusters. We are not talking about concluding the discussions yet. So yes, the alignment is very much sufficient for the actual accession talks to begin. That's what opening of the cluster means.

UKRAINE DOES NOT ESPLOIT MARTIAL LAW AS AN EXCUSE TO EXCESSIVELY CURTAIL RIGHTS

- Cluster 1 covers the judiciary, anti-corruption, and internal security. How will the EU monitor the independence of our anti-corruption bodies during these active negotiations, and what specific 'red lines' in judicial reform could freeze our progress?

- We will be monitoring progress and the independence of anticorruption bodies just like we are doing it right now. I mean, this is a question of anticorruption and rule of law, which is, of course, part and parcel of cluster one.

But it's not only anticorruption and rule of law, it's also fundamentals of the market, economy, statistics, financial control, and functioning of democratic institutions. So cluster one on fundamentals is quite extensive and it covers all the aspects of functioning of a modern democratic state, based on a market economy.

So, obviously, this will be followed closely, but that's true also for the rest of the negotiations. I mean, this is something that will be monitored and evaluated on the constant basis.

- Cluster 1 heavily emphasizes democratic institutions and fundamental rights. However, Ukraine is operating under prolonged martial law, which naturally limits certain peacetime civil freedoms, media access, and electoral processes. How does the EU Delegation balance the rigid requirements of Cluster 1 with the practical realities of a country fighting a full-scale war?

- First, I must say that it's amazing that a country at war that is fighting for its own national survival is actually reforming its state, its institutions and its legal order. So this is something that should not be taken for granted. Ukraine is really unique in this respect. I know of no other country that would be fighting an existential war and reforming itself. Now, martial law, obviously, brings, as you said, some curtailment of the fundamental rights.

For example, we have curfew at midnight.

That's also not a norm, but I think that Ukraine has so far balanced very well the curtailment of freedoms to the extent that is necessary to fight the war, but not use it as an excuse for unnecessary limitations.

THERE IS NEW MOMENTUM IN THE VERKHOVNA RADA

- Because cluster one dictates the overall pace of the entire accession process, any lag might pause everything else. What is the single biggest administrative or legislative hurdle you see within the Ukrainian government right now that could delay us from meeting the interim benchmarks handed over in Luxembourg?

- Before I answer the question on hurdles, I don't think it's necessarily correct to say that cluster one dictates the overall progress. It is true that you cannot close any of the negotiation chapters before the interim benchmarks are met. So yes, cluster 1 needs to be evaluated well, but we are talking about the interim benchmarks only. So I wouldn't say it necessarily that this dictates the pace of the overall effort. Now, in terms of your specific question, we very much hope that the base of the legislative work will look like last week and not some time before.

I'm very happy that there seems to be a new momentum in the Rada to vote on EU-relevant legislation, and we welcome the adoption of the resolution last week in this regard. I think that, honestly, the interim benchmarks can be met technically. I think it will require a political decision, political will, and a quick reaction from colleagues in Brussels.

TO EASE ANXIETIES OF MEMBER STATES, TEMPORARY PROVISIONS COULD BE INTRODUCED IN CERTAIN SECTORS

- While Hungary is no longer the primary bottleneck in the enlargement process, reports suggest that member states are raising some cautious conditions regarding our agricultural strength and market competition before opening all clusters. How do you plan to help Ukraine navigate this shifting economic anxiety among EU members?

- Economic anxiety has accompanied every stage of the enlargement of the EU. This is not anything extraordinary. I think I mentioned previously that, when Spain and Portugal were entering the EU, the worry was coming from the winemakers in Italy and France. When we went to 2004, the big bang enlargement was taking place, and the big worry was the Polish plumbers and Czech truck drivers. So there are economic anxieties always when a big change is happening and we have not had an expansion of the European Union since 2013, since the accession of Croatia. So this is quite natural, and it would be good if all sides understand this and work through the issues. Ukraine, as any other culture, is very competitive, and therefore, it creates a lot of nervousness among agricultural producers. And one will have to just work through that.

And the European Commission will be there to help and understand where each anxiety is coming from.

And I would expect that there would be some kind of temporary provisions related to these kind of sectors. But that will not devalue the EU expansion as the value for both sides overall, even if there are some areas with temporary provisions.

As an example I can give you is when in 2004, we had the accession of 10 countries, most of the EU member states imposed a seven-year temporary provision that did not allow freedom of movement of workers. People from new member states could travel in and out, but they could not work in most of the countries. Seven years passed, the adjustment happened, and now, it's a matter of history and nobody even remembers that.

Ievgen Matiushenko, Brussels-Kyiv