EU to Start Accession Talks with Ukraine and Moldova After Hungary Lifts Veto

The European Union will officially begin accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on June 15. This was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa after Hungary lifted its veto on launching the negotiation process, DW reports. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

According to European leaders, all EU member states agreed to open the first negotiation cluster with Kyiv and Chișinău.

"This is recognition of the determination, courage and hard work demonstrated by both countries in carrying out reforms even in the face of enormous difficulties," a joint statement said.

Brussels also stressed that further enlargement of the European Union is a strategic decision that serves the interests of European states amid growing global uncertainty.

As reported by the representation of Cyprus, which currently holds the presidency of the EU Council, the preparatory stage ended after Hungary stopped blocking the talks. EU countries agreed on a common position on the first negotiation cluster, allowing the process to move to the next stage.

The first block of negotiations is dedicated to issues of the rule of law, democracy, human rights and other fundamental values that candidate states must share. In total, negotiations will take place across six clusters, including dozens of thematic sections.

After all stages of the negotiation process are completed, the decision on the accession of new states must be approved and ratified by all 27 EU member states.

Formally, accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova started back in June 2024. However, due to the position of the previous Hungarian government, their official progress was blocked. Meanwhile, consultations between the parties continued at the expert level.

The situation changed after the new Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar came to power. Last week, he announced that agreements had been reached with Ukraine on protecting the rights of the Hungarian minority, after which Budapest lifted its objections to starting negotiations.