The Republic of Moldova and Ukraine officially start the accession negotiations to the European Union on June 25
The first intergovernmental conference, which is considered the beginning of the accession negotiations of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine to the European Union, will take place on June 25. The announcement was made by Belgium, which this semester holds the rotating presidency of the European Union and therefore sets the meeting agenda. The chief negotiator for the integration of the Republic of Moldova, Cristina Gherasimov, welcomed the "historic" decision of the Belgian presidency, in a reaction on social media.
"The ambassadors of the member countries to the European Union agreed, in principle, the negotiation frameworks for the official opening of accession negotiations with the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The Belgian Presidency will convene the first intergovernmental conference on June 25", reads the message of the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council, dated June 14.
"Congratulations to everyone on this historic moment! And we thank the Belgian Presidency for this good news!", wrote the vice-president for European integration, Cristina Gherasimov, on social networks, after the decision of the Belgian presidency. On June 7, the European Commission announced that the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine have met the necessary requirements to start accession negotiations to the European Union. The only country that then doubted the Commission's assessment was Hungary.
We remind that the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine submitted an application for EU membership in March 2022 and were granted the status of candidate countries in June 2022. In December 2023, EU leaders decided to open accession negotiations.
