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Ukraine and the European Union have officially opened accession negotiations under Cluster 6 – External Relations, the final of six negotiation clusters on Ukraine's path to EU membership.
The announcement was made during the Third EU–Ukraine Intergovernmental Conference in Brussels.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Chapter 31, which covers foreign policy, security, and defense, falls under the responsibility of Ukraine's Foreign Ministry.
According to Sybiha, Ukraine has achieved 99% alignment of its foreign policy with that of the European Union over the past several years.
Cluster 6 covers:
- foreign policy;
- security and defense;
- trade;
- humanitarian aid and development cooperation.
The opening of Cluster 6 follows the EU ambassadors' decision on July 10 to approve the launch of negotiations under the chapter, making it the second negotiating cluster opened for Ukraine after the Fundamentals cluster.
