Agreement to start negotiations
The countries of the European Union have formally agreed this Friday to open negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on June 25 on their accession to the community club, as reported by the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU. At a meeting of finance ministers, the EU Council ratified the principle of agreement reached last week by the ambassadors of the community club, who agreed on the negotiation frameworks for both countries.
Start date and intergovernmental conferences
Accession negotiations with Ukraine will begin on Tuesday, June 25 at 3:30 p.m. local time in Luxembourg, while negotiations with Moldova will begin at 6:00 p.m. on the same day. These negotiations will take place in intergovernmental conferences, as they are called in community jargon.
Objective of the Belgian presidency
The rotating EU presidency, currently held by Belgium, has set itself the goal of launching accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova this June, before Hungary takes over the presidency on July 1. The Hungarian government, which has been blocking negotiating frameworks, has expressed its intention to push forward accession negotiations with Western Balkan countries during its rotating presidency.
Hungary’s position
Hungary has made it clear that it does not plan to hold any more intergovernmental conferences this year with Ukraine and Moldova, and will focus on advancing the integration of the Western Balkan countries, which have been seeking EU membership for more than two decades. The Hungarian government also intends to organize a summit between the EU and the Western Balkans, although a date has not yet been set for this.
Accession negotiations underway
Currently, the EU has entered into accession negotiations with all countries except Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, which have not yet obtained candidate country status despite having applied for it. This is because some EU member countries do not recognize the unilateral independence declared by Kosovo in 2008.
