EU agrees to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova

All 27 European Union governments moved Ukraine and Moldova one step deeper into accession talks, agreeing to prepare the opening of the first negotiating cluster, the “Fundamentals” chapter that covers rule of law and democratic standards.

For Kyiv, the decision carried far more weight than a routine Brussels maneuver. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko called it “fantastic news” and said Ukraine was one step closer to EU membership, a message aimed as much at a wartime public as at skeptical European capitals. Ukraine applied for EU membership on 28 February 2022, received candidate status in June 2022 and formally opened accession negotiations in June 2024. In the middle of more than four years of war with Russia, that path has become part of Ukraine’s broader argument that its future belongs inside Europe, not on its edge.

The breakthrough came only after a compromise over the rights of Ukraine’s 100,000-strong Hungarian minority, according to Reuters-linked coverage. Hungary had previously blocked progress over language, education and cultural rights, making Viktor Orbán’s government one of the biggest obstacles in the process. Because opening any accession cluster requires unanimous approval, one government can still slow or stop the next stage. That is what makes the latest move important: it removed a major veto point, but it did not erase the political fragility of enlargement.

Cyprus, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, said it had begun preparations for the formal opening of negotiations. The government described the move as a significant milestone in the European integration path of both Ukraine and Moldova, and as a signal of EU unity and determination. A Reuters-linked report said the formal opening of the first cluster could take place on 15 June in Luxembourg, at separate intergovernmental conferences for the two countries.

Moldova has been pulled into the same process, reinforcing its alignment with Kyiv after applying for EU membership in March 2022, winning candidate status on 23 June 2022 and formally opening negotiations in June 2024. The timing matters because EU enlargement officials have spoken of 2030 as a realistic horizon for a new wave of membership, but only if candidates keep delivering reforms. For Ukraine especially, that makes the accession track both a promise and a stress test: Europe is signaling commitment under fire, while the hardest chapters on rule of law and democratic standards are still ahead.