The European Commission has said it is satisfied that reforms in Ukraine and Moldova are sufficient to start negotiations with the two eastern countries about joining the European Union.
Efforts to get all 27 EU countries to agree to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova are being held up by Hungary. Late last year national leaders agreed to start negotiations with the two countries, one of the big steps on the long road towards EU membership.
Ambassadors from EU countries have been discussing a proposal to formally open the talks towards the end of June. However, the decision must be unanimous and Hungary is opposing the talks beginning.
The commission, which is the executive arm of the EU, told a meeting of ambassadors on Friday that both Ukraine and Moldova had made sufficient progress on initial reforms to move ahead with accession negotiations. Commission officials said Ukraine had in recent months strengthened anti-corruption measures, such as increasing the number of staff in its national anti-corruption agency, and introduced a new law regulating lobbying.
In the days after it was invaded by Russia in February 2022, Ukraine applied to start the years-long process of joining the EU. It was granted candidate status as a prospective member later that year, and last December EU leaders agreed to let it start accession talks.
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban was persuaded to drop his opposition to Ukraine moving towards joining the EU, during a summit of national leaders late last year. Hungary has since opposed the formal start of the talks, as it claims it has concerns over the treatment of minorities in Ukraine.
The commission concluded this week that Ukraine had undertaken four initial reforms that had been a condition of negotiations beginning. Moldova had also completed initial judicial and anti-corruption reforms, according to a commission assessment.
Officials and diplomats are pushing for agreement from all member states to formally start accession talks with the two countries on June 25th.
There is a rush to open the negotiations before July when Hungary takes over the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, which traditionally is a deal-making role to help move EU policymaking along. There is concern the Hungarian presidency of the council could keep accession for Ukraine off the agenda until the start of next year, unless the negotiations begin beforehand.
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