BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union ambassadors agreed on Friday to formally open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova at intergovernmental conferences to be held on June 25, the Belgian EU presidency said .
Belgium indicated on the social network
This agreement means that Hungary has not, for the moment, opposed Ukraine’s accession to the EU. Budapest, which maintains close ties with Moscow, has been skeptical about opening accession negotiations with Kyiv.
The Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, has estimated in the past that the conditions were not met to begin such negotiations, despite the recommendation to this effect made in November by the European Commission.
The European Commission indicated last week that Ukraine and Moldova met the necessary criteria for accession negotiations to formally begin.
The opening of accession negotiations must be unanimously approved by the Twenty-Seven. The accession process, with multiple political, economic and legal criteria, takes years.
(Philip Blenkinsop; French version Camille Raynaud)
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