EU did not open the first cluster of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession on July 18 – Stefanishyna
18 July 20:37
On July 18, the European Union failed to open the first cluster of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession, despite Kyiv’s previous expectations.
This was stated by Olga Stefanishyna, the President’s Commissioner for the Development of Cooperation with the United States, in an interview with Yevropeiska Pravda , "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
“We have been working intensively to ensure that the decision to open the first cluster of negotiations is made on Friday, July 18. We held talks with EU leaders, the European Commission, and ministers of member states. I, Andriy Sybiga, Andriy Yermak, and I were involved in this. But in the end, it became clear that there would be no solution,” Stefanishyna said.
In her opinion, the EU lacked a “key political element” to make a decision.
“I think this situation influenced the president’s final decision to refocus my efforts on the American direction. And to further advance the issue of opening clusters, we now need direct communication between the head of state and European leaders, as well as diplomacy. Andriy Sybiga will continue to work on this at the level of member states,” the former Deputy Prime Minister added.
