The ambassadors of the 27 countries of the European Union gave their “agreement in principle” on Friday to the opening of formal accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, announced the Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union .
“The ambassadors agreed in principle on the frameworks for the accession negotiations of Ukraine and Moldova. The Belgian presidency will convene the first intergovernmental conferences on June 25,” said the Belgian presidency.
Validation expected during a meeting of European ministers
The decision must still be formally validated at a meeting of European ministers which will be held on June 21. Concerning the Netherlands, approval by Parliament is required. On the social network X, Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, welcomed this step. “We are keeping our promises and we will support you along the path to membership,” he said to these two countries.
While Hungary has so far held back the opening of negotiations, the European Commission assessed on June 7 that Ukraine and Moldova had fulfilled all the prerequisites for opening formal negotiations. Indeed, the European executive had demanded measures from kyiv to fight corruption and the influence of oligarchs. The Commission had also requested better consideration of minorities.
In addition to Ukraine and Moldova, the European Union has also granted candidate status to Georgia. Last March, it was the turn of Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia.
