EU confirms launch of Ukraine and Moldova membership talks
EU countries have formally approved the launch of membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova next week. The first Intergovernmental Conferences with the two countries will be held on 25 June on the sidelines of the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg.
The ministers of the 27 member states have adopted the negotiating frameworks for the accession of Moldova and Ukraine to the EU. The first conferences on Tuesday are a landmark event for the two countries at the start of their long path towards joining the bloc.
Ukraine and Moldova applied to join the EU after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. They were both given candidate status in June the same year.
The news comes a few days before Hungary, which has long opposed the accession talks, takes over the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union from Belgium on 1 July.
© BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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