Ukraine EU accession talks could start after Hungary’s U-turn

Ukraine can officially start the long road to accession to the European Union on June 25. According to EU President Belgium, negotiations with Moldova can also start.

Hungary resisted the accession negotiations for a long time, but has now stopped that fight. In December last year, the EU member states already decided that negotiations with the two candidate members could start, provided the two countries had met all conditions.

For example, both countries had to take measures against corruption and Ukraine had to limit the power of oligarchs. A week ago, the European Commission in Brussels ruled that the two countries were ready.

It has been a long time since the EU added countries, Croatia was the last country to join the Union, in 2013. This was preceded by six years of negotiations.

Just like then, it may take years before Ukraine and Moldova actually become members of the EU. Such a process can sometimes take up to ten years. Before countries actually join, there are dozens of intermediate steps that require new approval from all member states.

The Netherlands also supports the new step, but the cabinet still wants to submit it to the House of Representatives.