Ukraine and Moldova will begin the first stage of negotiations to join the European Union on Monday, the bloc’s leaders announced.
On Friday, the EU’s 27 member countries voted to open the first cluster of accession negotiations with the two countries. Negotiations will open on Monday in Luxembourg.
Both former Soviet countries were accepted as EU candidates after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
However, further negotiations over their candidacy were blocked by former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán until he was ousted from office this year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Kyiv will open six clusters of negotiations starting on Monday.
“The European Union has confirmed its readiness to open the first cluster, and this gives new momentum to our negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union,” Zelensky said.
“That is why the fate of Europe is being decided here – it is being decided in Ukraine, in this war, and in how this war ends, and whether Russia will still have the strength and the desire after this war to threaten the existence of Ukraine and its other neighbors, and the entirety of Europe.”
Ukraine, Moldova to begin EU negotiations
European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen stated that the first cluster of negotiations regards the “fundamentals” of European Union accession.
“This is a recognition of the determination, courage, and hard work shown by both countries in advancing reforms, even in the face of immense challenges,” she wrote.
“In a world marked by growing uncertainty, a larger European Union is in our common interest.”
In a Friday post on X/Twitter, Zelensky noted that it is “important that the EU is also keeping its word.”
To fully join the EU, Moldova and Ukraine must adopt thousands of European laws and then secure unanimous approval from all member states. Both countries see EU membership as a way to counter Russian influence and military aggression.
Notably, Ukraine has taken steps to counter corruption in Kyiv, including the arrest of Zelensky’s former chief of staff, Andriy Yermak. He had led Kyiv’s negotiating team and was arrested under suspicion of money laundering.
Still, European Union representatives are pushing for Kyiv to make haste on a series of priority reforms to strengthen anti-corruption bodies and reform the appointment processes of judicial officials, according to the Guardian.
This comes after he rejected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s proposal to grant Ukraine associate membership in the EU, meaning that Ukraine would be unable to vote within the bloc while still contributing to the EU budget.
“There can be no complete European project without Ukraine, and Ukraine’s place in the European Union must also be complete, full, and equal,” Zelensky wrote on X in late May.
Trump, Zelensky will not meet at G7
This comes as US President Donald Trump is set to take part in a G7 work session in France on Tuesday. Zelensky will also be in attendance, but the two will not hold a bilateral meeting, sources told the Guardian.
Trump will hold side meetings with leaders from France, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, and India.
According to a US administration official briefed on the matter, Russia’s gains in Ukraine have “more or less stopped.”
“We want the war to end as quickly as possible,” the administration official said, as quoted by the Guardian.
On Sunday, Zelensky discussed the war, diplomacy, and peace negotiations in a call with Trump, a presidential adviser said.
Zelensky also conveyed birthday greetings to Trump, who turned 80 on Sunday, during the call, which lasted roughly 30 to 35 minutes, presidential communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said.
