Last week, the European Commission approved a draft negotiation framework for Ukraine, outlining Brussels' procedural vision of the accession process.

The negotiation framework needs now to be approved or revised by the EU Council – the member states. When they "greenlight" the framework, the first intergovernmental conference is set to take place, which will mark the official start of Ukraine's EU accession negotiations.

Read more about one of Ukraine's key priorities for successful EU accession negotiations in the column by Dmytro Naumenko and Snizhana Diachenko, NGO Ukrainian Center for European Policy – How Ukraine will negotiate its EU accession and why the government cannot do that without its "elite department."

The authors remind us that on 25 January, the EU launched the screening – Ukraine's alignment of its laws with the EU acquis in the 33 acquis chapters.

The result of explanatory and bilateral sessions will lead to the final analytical report by the European Commission. Then, the European Commission will propose benchmarks for Ukraine for each negotiation chapter based on the gaps identified at the screening.

"If simplified, achieving these benchmarks will constitute Ukraine's fulfilment of the conditions for EU accession," experts note.

According to them, strong public administration is the backbone and a necessary condition for successful Eurointegration.

Dmytro Naumenko and Snizhana Diachenko explain that most of the work will fall on government institutions and civil servants who will act as mediators between the main stakeholders (government bodies, enterprises, businesses, associations, etc.) to achieve consensus on the implementation of European norms. There, civil servants will prepare legislative acts and communicate with the European Commission on the benchmark implementation

So, one of the government's priorities should be public administration reform, the authors assert.

Eurointegration involves deep sectoral reforms, so ministries must be capable of conducting qualitative analysis, shaping, and coordinating public policy.

Responsibilities of government bodies should also be clearly delineated, and duplication of their powers should be eliminated.

"Those civil servants engaged in EU negotiations will face special requirements. They need knowledge not only of Ukrainian but also European law and its implementation peculiarities. They need to establish personal contacts with counterparts in the European Commission and master specific 'Brussels-style' negotiation communication," experts note.

Moreover, Ukraine, according to them, should prepare for the need not only to conduct initial selection of the "best of the best" members of negotiating groups and the chief negotiator but also to continue creating incentives for these experts to remain in their positions throughout the negotiation process.

The EU negotiations do not last for just one year, so it is important to accumulate and preserve institutional memory. But frequent team changes may lead to each negotiation position effectively starting from scratch each time. This would prolong the negotiation process and weaken the candidate country's position compared to European negotiators.

"Hence, the work of such experts must be adequately compensated," experts warn.

Essentially, participants in the EU negotiations need to be singled out into an "elite department" of the civil service, with the state continually investing resources in their strengthening and professional training.