European Commission confirms positive assessment of European integration reforms in Ukraine and Moldova

The European Commission has provided a positive oral assessment of the progress of European integration reforms in Ukraine and Moldova, as outlined in the November 2023 EU Enlargement Report.

This announcement was made by European Commission spokesperson Ana Pisonero during a briefing.

According to Pisonero, the European Commission confirms that Ukraine has fulfilled the necessary reform requirements to start negotiations on accession to the European Union.

«We believe that all the steps have been taken by both countries… Now it is up to the member states to continue the discussion on the next steps. It is up to them to adopt a framework for negotiations», — Pisonero said, as quoted by the EP.

She noted that Kyiv has met the necessary criteria in several areas: anti-corruption, control over political lobbying, transparency of officials’ wealth, and ensuring the rights of national minorities.

The EU and Ukraine hope to officially start negotiations by the end of June, as Hungary assumes the EU Council presidency on July 1.

Earlier reports indicated that Hungary would express disagreement with Ukraine’s progress, continuing to claim that the rights of the Hungarian minority are being violated. Prior to this, it was reported that Hungary had blocked the approval of the draft negotiation framework for Ukraine’s EU accession at a meeting of EU ambassadors on May 29 due to the issue of minority rights.