The Belgian Presidency of the Council of Europe announced yesterday, Friday, that the ambassadors of the 27 EU countries “agreed in principle” to begin accession negotiations for Ukraine and Moldova on June 25.
In a statement, it said, “The ambassadors agreed in principle on the negotiating frameworks for the accession negotiations of Ukraine and Moldova. The Belgian Presidency will call for the first intergovernmental conferences to be held on June 25.”
The statement added that this decision will be formally approved during a meeting of foreign ministers scheduled for June 21. In the Netherlands, the parliament must also approve this decision.
Kyiv and Chișinău (the capital of Moldova) applied for EU membership shortly after the Russian war on Ukraine began in February 2022.
In mid-December of last year, the heads of state and government of the EU made a historic decision that paved the way for the start of accession negotiations for Ukraine and Moldova.
However, Hungary has been persistently delaying the start of Ukraine’s accession negotiations, arguing that Kyiv has not yet met the necessary conditions to launch the talks.
On June 7, the European Commission stated that Ukraine and Moldova had met all the basic requirements to officially begin negotiations.
The Commission had called on Kyiv to take measures to combat corruption and the influence of the oligarchic class and to enhance the rights of ethnic minorities, a condition insisted upon by Budapest due to the presence of a Hungarian community in Ukraine.
The start of these negotiations marks the first step in a long and arduous accession process that will take years.
source: lualuatv
