Von der Leyen: EU will launch Moldova accession talks in coming days
The European Union will launch accession negotiations with the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine in the coming days, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday, June 9.
The official said that despite the war, Ukraine has made significant progress and that it is now the EU's turn to seize this historic opportunity.
"So now it is our turn to deliver. We now have a historic opportunity to do so. In the coming days, we will open the first negotiating cluster with Ukraine and Moldova. This will effectively pave the way for the next stage of the accession process, the formal launch of accession negotiations. The Commission stands fully ready to support Ukraine on its path to our European Union, where it belongs," Ursula von der Leyen said, according to a European Commission statement.
During a recent visit to Moldova, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos told Radio Moldova that the country is ready to open accession negotiations on the first cluster of chapters, with the launch expected in mid June.
The accession process is structured into 33 chapters grouped into six thematic clusters. The first cluster, covering the rule of law, democratic institutions, and the functioning of the economy, is by convention the first to open and the last to close in any EU accession process.
Shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moldova applied for EU membership on March 3, 2022, and was granted candidate status on June 23, 2022.
The government in Chișinău aims to complete accession negotiations by 2028.
