The European Union will start accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova next week, the EU's Belgian presidency announced on June 21, a move that will mark a watershed moment for the two countries' aspirations to eventually join the bloc.
"The EU Council adopted the general EU positions, including negotiating frameworks, for accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, it said in a message on X, adding, "This opens the way for launching the negotiations on Tuesday, June 25, in Luxembourg.
The EU Council groups representatives of the governments of the 27 states that make up the bloc.
The official opening of the negotiations with Ukraine will take place first, at 3:30 p.m., followed by Moldova at 6 p.m., the message said.
The announcement comes two weeks after the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, recommended opening the process, saying the two countries are sufficiently prepared to engage in negotiations with the EU -- an arduous journey that could take years.
Ukraine and Moldova submitted their candidacies shortly after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and obtained candidate status in June 2022, gaining the conditional green-light for the start of negotiations in December.
Shortly after the announcement by the Belgian EU presidency, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed the move, saying on X that he was "grateful" for the bloc's "robust political will."
"Millions of Ukrainians, and indeed generations of our people, are realizing their European dream. Ukraine is returning to Europe, where it has belonged for centuries, as a full-fledged member of the European community," he said, while also hailing Moldova's inclusion in the accession talks.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on X that she had signed the document that envisaged the opening of membership talks with the bloc.
Shortly after the announcement by the Belgian EU presidency, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on X that she had signed the document that envisaged the opening of membership talks with the bloc.
"Today, I signed the Decree on initiating Moldova's EU accession negotiations. Becoming an EU member is our path to peace, prosperity, and a better life for all citizens," Sandu wrote.
"Wishing our delegation every success as they officially launch negotiations in Luxembourg next week."
Pro-Western Sandu, under whom Moldova made an abrupt U-turn from Russia to Europe, is up for reelection later this year after handing an upset defeat to Moscow-backed incumbent Igor Dodon in 2020.
With Sandu at the helm, neutral Moldova also strongly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, firmly aligning itself with Kyiv while tightening its ties with its Western neighbor, EU and NATO member Romania, with whom Moldova shares a common language and history.
Sandu has said Moscow plans to undermine the former Soviet republic's stability and throw it off its path toward European integration ahead of the presidential elections and a referendum on membership in the European Union scheduled simultaneously in the fall.
In reaction to Brussel's announcement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on June 21 that pursuing EU integration was a sovereign matter for Chisinau, but said there were "many Moldovans" who also desired close ties to Russia.