Key facts
- Taras Kachka appointed Ukraine's EU ambassador on Oct. 9.
- Kachka previously served as deputy prime minister for EU integration.
- Ukraine opened two accession negotiation clusters during Kachka's tenure.
- Kachka worked on reforms tied to EU loan installments.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed Taras Kachka, Ukraine’s former deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, as the country’s representative to the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community. The decree was published on Oct. 9.
Kachka's tenure overseeing EU integration saw Ukraine open its first two accession negotiation clusters, covering fundamental reforms like the rule of law and external relations. In December 2025, he and EU enlargement chief Marta Kos co-signed a letter identifying the 10 most pressing rule-of-law reforms Ukraine should complete by the end of 2026.
He also collaborated with the European Commission to align the timing and content of reforms with installments of the EU’s 90-billion-euro loan for Ukraine, which was finalized in April. Speaking at the Bruegel think tank’s annual conference in Brussels on Sept. 2, Kachka emphasized Ukraine's commitment to maintaining reform efforts despite the ongoing war, stating that "The scale of this mutual undertaking on deterring Russia is so huge that it requires enormous trust between all of us."
His appointment comes as parliamentary delays in passing EU-backed legislation put installments worth 2.1 billion euros and 3.7 billion euros at risk. Zelensky has urged the EU to advance some loan installments scheduled for 2027, a request Kachka linked to unfulfilled promises of additional financing from other allies. Kachka praised the EU's joint borrowing initiative for Ukraine's wartime needs as "a really revolutionary thing" and expressed optimism about continued support from partners like the U.K., Canada, and Japan.