The European Council said leaders meeting in Brussels on 18 and 19 June heard from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and reaffirmed long-term support for Ukraine. Its conclusions welcomed the second accession conference with Ukraine, held on 15 June, and the opening of the "fundamentals" cluster, while expressing support for opening other clusters in line with the merit-based approach.
That first cluster is the accession process's spine. The Council of the EU said it covers the rule of law and fundamental rights, democratic institutions, public administration reform, economic criteria, public procurement, statistics and financial control. It also said the fundamentals cluster is the first to open and the last to close, and that progress there determines the overall pace of negotiations.
The diplomatic gain is therefore real but bounded. European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said before the summit that opening the first cluster for Ukraine and Moldova would recognise reform work and renew the enlargement process. The Guardian reported that Ukraine and Moldova had been set to begin the first substantive phase of membership negotiations after a two-year stall caused by Hungarian opposition.
The gap is the timetable. The New Union Post, a Brussels outlet focused on EU institutions, reported that the final leaders' text did not commit to a specific date for opening Ukraine's remaining five negotiating clusters and dropped draft language that had pointed to doing so "as soon as possible". Baltic leaders pushed for speed; the final text left the next step conditional.
That caution reflects the broader summit agenda. The European Council did not treat enlargement as a stand-alone moral pledge. Leaders also discussed the EU's 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework, the seven-year budget that will set the resources available for future commitments, and asked the incoming Irish presidency to advance work before the 15 October Council meeting. The Council said the aim is to reach agreement before the end of 2026 so legislation can be adopted in 2027 and funds can start flowing from January 2028.