Ukraine has implemented about 15% of the reforms outlined in the 10-point plan agreed upon with the European Union as part of its preparations for accession negotiations, The Guardian reports, citing an assessment by EU officials.
According to the publication, the plan was agreed upon in December between European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos and Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka. It includes priority steps in the areas of the rule of law, anti-corruption policy, the judicial system, and the prosecutor’s office.
Specifically, the program calls for measures to strengthen the independence of Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), the adoption of an anti-corruption strategy, and reforms to the procedures for appointing judges and prosecutors.
The Guardian notes that European officials acknowledge the efforts of Ukraine and Moldova to carry out reforms under difficult circumstances; however, in the case of Ukraine, this assessment is accompanied by disappointment over the insufficiently rapid implementation of agreed-upon priorities.
The publication appeared against the backdrop of the start of the first phase of Ukraine and Moldova’s EU accession negotiations. This stage concerns the so-called first cluster of negotiations—issues of the rule of law, democracy, the functioning of institutions, and fundamental reforms.
For Ukraine, these areas are key, as without progress in the anti-corruption and judicial spheres, further advancement through the negotiation clusters will be difficult. The EU traditionally views the independence of anti-corruption bodies and the quality of the prosecution service and judicial system as the foundation for all other reforms.
Ukraine applied for EU membership in February 2022 following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. In June 2022, the country received candidate status, and in 2024, the EU formally opened accession negotiations. However, practical progress in the negotiations depends on the implementation of reforms and the unanimous support of all EU member states.
The Guardian reports that EU accession requires a candidate country to adopt thousands of European laws and decisions, as well as approval from all current EU members. Therefore, even with political support for Ukraine, the integration process could take years.
Source: The Guardian – “Ukraine and Moldova to enter first phase of EU membership negotiations”.
In January–May 2026, Ukraine increased its imports of metal products by 12.3% compared to the same period last year, reaching $464.694 million.
According to statistics from the State Customs Service, $109.894 million worth of metal products were imported into the country in May of this year.
Thus, for the January-May period, imports of metal products exceeded exports of these products: $464.694 million versus $351.285 million.
As reported, in 2025 Ukraine increased imports of metal products by 24.4% compared to the previous year—to $1.290608 billion.
According to the Interfax-Ukraine Culture project, about 100 translations of Ukrainian books will be published in 2026 in 33 countries around the world under the Translate Ukraine translation support program, said Oleksandra Koval, acting director of the Ukrainian Book Institute, in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“This year, under the Translate Ukraine program alone, about 100 translations of Ukrainian books will be published in 33 countries around the world. And in total, since the program’s inception in 2020, we have supported about 300 translations,” Koval said.
According to her, the sale of translation rights for Ukrainian books is currently one of the most successful avenues for Ukrainian literature to enter the international market.
Koval noted that Ukraine remains a key topic for the international cultural community, which contributes to growing interest in Ukrainian authors and their works abroad.
She emphasized that one of the most significant changes in recent years has been the perception of Ukraine as a distinct and independent participant in the international book market.
“Ukraine has finally become a distinct and independent entity in the international book market. It is no longer perceived as part of the Russian-speaking sphere and is increasingly associated with its own language, literature, and culture,” Koval emphasized.
According to the Ukrainian Book Institute, the database of translations of Ukrainian literature already includes over 1,500 titles in various languages of the world. The works of Andriy Kurkov, Serhiy Zhadan, Yuriy Andrukhovych, Oksana Zabuzhko, and the “Agrafka” creative workshop have the most translations. Among the new wave of authors who are actively attracting the attention of foreign publishers and readers, Koval highlighted Artem Chapay, Oleksandr Mykhed, Yevheniia Kuznetsova, Sofiia Andrukhovych, and Yuliia Ilyukha. At the same time, she recalled the significant contribution to the promotion of Ukrainian literature abroad made by the writers Viktoria Amelina and Volodymyr Vakulenko, who died during the war.
At the same time, one of the main challenges for the further promotion of Ukrainian literature abroad remains the shortage of translators from the Ukrainian language. According to Koval, demand for Ukrainian books is growing faster than the number of specialists capable of providing high-quality translations, and many translators already have orders booked several years in advance.
The head of the UIC also noted that international book fairs play an important role in promoting Ukrainian authors, where Ukrainian publishers negotiate new translations, contracts, and partnerships.
As reported, book piracy remains one of the biggest problems facing the Ukrainian publishing market and costs the industry hundreds of millions of hryvnias in losses every year.
In its June report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) raised its forecast for Ukraine’s wheat production in the 2026/27 marketing year (July–June) to 23.5 million tons from 23 million tons, as projected a month earlier, and also increased its export estimate from 13 million tons to 14 million tons.
In the June World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, USDA analysts attributed the forecast revision for Ukraine to favorable weather conditions in the spring.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the upward revision of the forecast for Ukraine was one of the factors behind the increase in the forecast for global wheat production in the 2026/27 marketing year from 819.1 million tons to 820.1 million tons. Global wheat trade was also revised upward—from 211.7 million tons to 212.0 million tons.
In addition, the USDA raised its forecast for Ukraine’s barley harvest in the 2026/27 marketing year by 300,000 tons—from 5.5 million tons to 5.8 million tons, as expected a month earlier.
The export estimate was also increased by the same 300,000 tons, which, together with other grains excluding wheat and corn, currently stands at 2.49 million tons.
As for the corn harvest forecast, analysts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture left it unchanged at 30 million tons this year, compared to 30.9 million tons last year. Corn exports from Ukraine are expected to reach 23 million tons, the same as a month earlier.
As reported, in its May report, the USDA published its first forecast for Ukraine for the 2026/27 marketing year, estimating the wheat harvest at 23 million tons, exports at 13 million tons, and corn production and exports at 30 million tons and 23 million tons, respectively.
As reported, Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture forecasts the 2026 grain harvest at around 60.4 million tons, which is only 1%, or 0.64 million tons, less than last year. According to preliminary estimates by the Ministry of Economy, the harvest of key crops could amount to about 22.4 million tons of wheat, about 4.7 million tons of barley, and approximately 31.6 million tons of corn.
According to data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the wheat harvest in Ukraine in 2025 increased by 3.6% to 23.34 million tons, the corn harvest by 14.6% to 30.9 million tons, while barley production decreased by 2.4% to 5.2 million tons.
In 2025, Ukraine reduced the physical volume of organic berry exports by 12.5% compared to 2024—to 15,400 tons—but increased its value by 8.5%—to EUR39.8 million.
“Over the past two years, organic raspberries, strawberries, currants, and blueberries have remained the main export items,” said Iryna Fedorchenko, a leading export specialist at the organic production certification body “Organic Standard,” during a presentation of a study on the export of organic berries and nuts in 2024–2025 at the forum “Development of Exports in Ukraine’s Berry and Nut Sector” on June 10 in Kyiv.
She noted that Ukraine accounts for a significant share of organic berry exports to the EU. The largest buyers of Ukrainian products were Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy, Germany, and Austria.
“We are second only to Serbia in raspberries. Ukraine accounts for about 20% of organic raspberry imports, and 30% for blackberries. Blueberries are our trump card, because almost all organic blueberries exported to the EU come from Ukraine,” said Fedorchenko.
Currently, there are 55 companies in Ukraine exporting organic berries to 18 countries worldwide.
According to the study, wild berries continued to form the bulk of last year’s shipments—11,800 tons worth EUR27.1 million—while 3,600 tons of cultivated berries were exported for EUR12.7 million.
The cultivated berry segment saw an increase in export value despite a decline in volume. For example, organic raspberry exports fell by 18.7% to 2,230 tons, but their value rose by 31% to EUR8 million.
Organic strawberry shipments decreased by 13% to 1,290 tons, while revenue rose from EUR3.4 million to EUR4.2 million. Exports of organic blueberries, on the other hand, increased more than 11-fold—from 8.1 tons to 91.8 tons—and their value rose from EUR0.1 million to EUR0.5 million.
According to Fedorchenko, the vast majority of Ukrainian organic berries are exported in frozen form. “It is very difficult for us to export fresh berries, especially when they are organic and untreated,” she emphasized.
Separately, the representative of “Organic Standard” noted changes in the structure of organic berry farming. The area under organic raspberries in 2025 increased to 842 hectares from 768 hectares a year earlier, and under blueberries—to 353 hectares from 337 hectares. In contrast, the area under strawberries decreased to 210 hectares from 309 hectares, and under cherries—to 54 hectares from 146 hectares. The total area of organic berry plantations decreased from 1,700 hectares to 1,600 hectares.
The study was conducted by the certification body “Organic Standard” in collaboration with the Office for Entrepreneurship and Export Development and the national project “Dія.Бізнес” with support from Switzerland as part of the Global Quality and Standards Program (GQSP Ukraine), implemented by UNIDO.
EXPORTS, organic berries, Organic Standard, RASPBERRIES, UKRAINE
Suspilne has announced its participation in the “Junior Eurovision 2026” song contest and will soon begin accepting applications.
“Singer and songwriter Svitlana Tarabarova will serve as the music producer for the national selection for the fourth time. This will be Ukraine’s 20th appearance at the international contest, which will take place this October in Malta,” according to a statement from “Suspilne.”
“Junior Eurovision 2026” will take place in Malta on October 24 at the MFCC in Ta’ Qali.
As previously reported, Ukraine’s representative Anastasia Dymyd placed 5th at the “Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023” in Nice (France), Artem Kotenko placed 3rd at the “Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024” in Madrid (Spain), and Sofia Nersesyan, with the song “Motanka,” took 2nd place at the “Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2025” in Tbilisi (Georgia).
Junior Eurovision, MALTA, national selection, UKRAINE, Суспільне
