On Friday 10 July, EU ambassadors agreed to open a sixth negotiation cluster as part of the accession negotiations between Ukraine and Moldova and the EU.
According to the European bureau of Report, European Council President António Costa announced this on his social media accounts.
“We are building a more resilient Europe: this is another step bringing Ukraine and Moldova closer to the European Union,” wrote Costa, welcoming the EU ambassadors’ decision.
According to him, the European Union continues to support the European path of Kyiv and Chișinău.
Ukraine has repeatedly insisted on the opening of all five remaining negotiation clusters as early as July, a position with which the European Commission agreed. According to the European Commission’s assessment, Ukraine has already fulfilled all the necessary conditions for this. However, some EU countries, including Hungary, insisted that the traditional approach to negotiations on European integration should be followed, that is, on the basis of merit.
The Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU, which began on 1 July, also announced that Member States had agreed to close Chapters 8 (‘Competition Policy’) and 29 (‘Customs Union’) in the accession negotiations with Montenegro, as well as Chapters 25 (‘Science and Research’), 26 (“Education and Culture”) and 30 (“External Relations”) in the negotiations with Albania.
According to Dublin, these decisions give new impetus to the EU’s enlargement policy.
