EU to begin accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova

The European Union is set to begin formal accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on Monday after the lifting of a blockade by Hungary.

Cyprus, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, announced on Friday that member states have agreed on a common position regarding the first phase of negotiations, thereby completing the necessary preparations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took to social media to thank his country's partners in the EU. "Ukraine is doing what is necessary, and it is important that the EU is also keeping its word," he wrote.

The Ukrainian president said the beginning of negotiations provides "significant political and moral support for our state and our people."

Moldovan President Maia Sandu also welcomed the decision in a post on X, writing: "we've done the work, and we'll keep delivering reforms."

The EU officially began accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova in June 2024, but the opening of the first phase of talks with Kiev was blocked by a Hungarian veto. It was only after the electoral defeat of Hungary's long-serving former prime minister Viktor Orbán in April that the process began to move forward again.

The new Hungarian Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, announced last week that an agreement had been reached with Kiev on a deal to strengthen the minority rights of ethnic Hungarians in neighbouring Ukraine. Magyar had made such an agreement a condition for agreeing to the beginning of EU accession talks with Ukraine.

In the first phase of negotiations, known as the first cluster, countries must demonstrate, among other things, that their judicial system and public administration meet EU standards. The accession negotiation process is divided into six thematic clusters comprising a total of 33 chapters. An additional two chapters are negotiated outside the clusters.

Negotiations usually last years, and there is no guarantee that they will be successfully concluded. The EU opened accession negotiations with Turkey, for example, in 2005 - but today, following the country's ongoing setbacks in the areas of democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights, the negotiations are completely on hold.