Zelenskiy thanks Cyprus for support as Ukraine advances EU accession talks

Nicosia, Cyprus. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked Cyprus for efforts during its six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union that contributed to the opening of Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations.

He also thanked President Nikos Christodoulides for his well-wishes on Ukraine’s independence day.

EU accession negotiations

“It was during the Cyprus presidency of the Council of the European Union that Ukraine finally opened the first negotiating cluster with the EU. Now it is important to open all the remaining ones,” Zelenskiy wrote in a social media post.

He said Ukraine could count on Cyprus’ continued support for its EU integration and added that Kyiv appreciated other forms of support and hoped to expand cooperation in other areas.

Ukraine and Moldova opened accession negotiations with the EU in June, during Cyprus’ six-month term. Cyprus’ then deputy minister for European affairs, Marilena Raouna, said at the time that the government had worked intensively from the first day of its presidency to achieve this.

Cyprus presidency priorities

Raouna had earlier said Cyprus worked in a results-driven manner, with perseverance, diligence and intensity, to bring about the start of negotiations.

She said the opening of the first cluster guided Ukraine and Moldova from political aspiration to concrete commitment and implementation of a process intended to bring them closer to the European Union.

European Council President Antonio Costa described the development as “a historic milestone on Ukraine’s path towards the European Union”.

He later said, in reference to EU enlargement, that “the main problem … is that we would need to wait for another 17 years for another Cypriot presidency”. Enlargement was among Cyprus’ priorities during its six-month term.

Negotiating clusters

Ukraine and Moldova both opened “cluster one”, focused on “fundamentals”, from the six thematic clusters of accession negotiations.

The six clusters are fundamentals; internal market; competitiveness and inclusive growth; green agenda and sustainable connectivity; resources, agriculture and cohesion; and external relations.