On July 14, 2026, the third Intergovernmental Conference between Ukraine and the EU was held in Brussels, the Kingdom of Belgium, at which negotiations on accession to the European Union under Cluster 6 “External Relations” were officially opened.
This Cluster covers the issues of the EU’s common trade policy, foreign policy, and security and defense. In the context of the full-scale war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine, this Cluster is of particular importance, as Ukraine is already making a significant contribution to the security of all of Europe.
Cluster 6 contains negotiating chapters 30 “External Relations” and 31 “Foreign, Security and Defense Policy”. Chapter 30 “External Relations” covers the EU’s common trade policy and the European Union’s foreign economic relations.
It also covers export controls, investment protection, economic security and humanitarian policy. Meeting the benchmarks (accession conditions) under this chapter means that Ukraine will operate under the same international trade rules as EU member states, and Ukrainian business will become even more integrated into the single European market.
Chapter 31 “Foreign, Security and Defence Policy” covers participation in the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). In particular, it covers EU standards in the field of security and defence, defence planning, participation in European defence initiatives, countering hybrid threats, crisis management, arms control and combating illicit arms trafficking.
Following the results of the intergovernmental conference, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Cos stated that Ukraine's progress towards EU membership is the result of large-scale reforms that the country continues to implement even in the face of full-scale war, and its future membership will strengthen the security, economic potential and resilience of the European Union.
For reference
Intergovernmental conference (IGC) - in the EU enlargement policy, it is the official format of negotiations between a candidate country and EU Member States within the framework of the accession process to the European Union to discuss and agree on the provisions of the future accession treaty of the candidate country. The frequency of such conferences depends on the progress of the candidate country in fulfilling the accession conditions and decisions of the EU Member States.