Zelensky in Brussels: Ukraine calls for faster opening of five EU negotiating clusters

On Thursday, Volodymyr Zelensky met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa in Brussels on the eve of the European Council summit.

The talks focused on further steps in Ukraine’s path toward EU membership, defense cooperation, and financial support.

The meeting took place several days after the EU and Ukraine officially opened negotiations on the first accession cluster — the so-called “fundamentals” cluster — at an intergovernmental conference in Luxembourg on June 15. It covers the rule of law, fundamental rights, democratic institutions, economic criteria, and public administration reform.

According to an official statement from Zelensky’s office, the president stressed the importance of opening the remaining five negotiating clusters “in the near future,” and the parties exchanged views on the timeline for further steps. EU member states have informally agreed to open the five remaining clusters on July 14, though a number of diplomats have expressed doubt that all negotiations can be completed by that deadline given their complexity.

In addition to accession talks, the leaders discussed defense cooperation and Ukraine’s expectation of receiving the first tranche from the EU’s EUR 90 billion loan support package, approved by the Council in April to cover Ukraine’s budgetary and defense needs for 2026–2027. The first tranche of EUR 5.9 billion, earmarked for defense needs, is expected to be directed toward the purchase of Ukrainian drones, according to Euronews.

Zelensky also raised the issue of concluding a “Drone Deal” agreement with the EU, which would cover procurement of Ukrainian defense products, air defense systems, counter-drone systems, and unmanned maritime systems.

The summit is taking place as the EU simultaneously makes cautious diplomatic attempts to reach out to Moscow, seeking to secure a seat at the negotiating table in the event of a possible peace settlement and to prevent Europe from being marginalized, according to the Washington Post. Zelensky arrived in Brussels on June 17 directly after the G7 summit in France, where leaders made commitments to increase weapons deliveries and expressed readiness to transfer military production licenses to Ukraine.