Euractiv: Moldova might start negotiations on first EU accession cluster in next June

The European Commission intends to propose, on 16 June, the opening of the first group of negotiation chapters on the accession  of Moldova and Ukraine to the European Union and European leaders might approve the decision at the European Council summit in Brussels, scheduled two days later, reports Euractiv, as cited by MOLDPRES.

According to the publication, the proposal will be presented at the meeting of ministers for European affairs in the EU General Affairs Council. The timetable would allow the heads of state and government of the 27 member states to give their official green light to advancing negotiations with Moldova and Ukraine.

The accession process has been blocked in recent months, mainly because of the opposition of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. After the change of government in Budapest, however, the new Hungarian executive has sent signals of a more moderate approach toward the enlargement of the European Union.

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar is expected to pay a visit to Brussels this week and could condition his support for the enlargement process on the unfreezing of EU funds previously suspended for Hungary, due to violations of EU rules under the Orbán government.

In last April, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said that the negotiations on the first “cluster” of chapters for Moldova and Ukraine might begin after the completion of the political transition in Hungary, possibly during the Cypriot presidency of the Council of the EU, which lasts until the end of June.

The publication also notes that discussions on the concrete conditions of accession stay open. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has recently suggested the possibility that Ukraine could become an “associated member” of the European Union, without full voting rights, an idea later rejected by the Kiev authorities.

At the same time, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide rejected the idea of Ukraine joining the European Economic Area as an intermediate stage before full EU membership.

The process of accession to the European Union is structured into six topic-related groups of negotiations, which bring together different chapters of European legislation. The opening of each group requires the unanimous approval of all 27 member states, and any state can block the negotiations, if it considers that the candidate country no longer complies with the reforms it has committed to.

The first group of chapters covers such key areas as the rule of law, democratic institutions and the work of the economy. This is the first group to be opened in negotiations and also the last to be closed. The other negotiation groups for the Moldova and Ukraine could be opened in July, according to the same source.

Moldova submitted its application for EU membership on March 3, 2022, and on 17 June the same year. the European Commission issued its opinion on the country’s application for accession to the EU.On 23 June 2022, the European Council granted Moldova the candidate country status and invited the European Commission to submit to the Council a report on the fulfilment of the conditions set out in the opinion of the European Union’s institutions regarding the accession application.

In November 2023, the European Commission issued a recommendation to start accession negotiations with Moldova. In December 2023, EU leaders ruled to open accession negotiations with Moldova and invited the Council to adopt the negotiating framework, after the completion of the relevant steps set out in the Commission’s report of November 8, 2023.

In line with the revised enlargement methodology, the Council approved the negotiating framework on June 21, 2024, and four days later the European Union held the first intergovernmental conference with Moldova to launch accession negotiations with the country.

Accession negotiations take place within intergovernmental conferences between the ministers and ambassadors of the EU member states and the ones of the candidate country. The negotiations cover the entire body of common rights and common legislation (the “EU acquis”) and are divided into different chapters or topic-related groups of chapters, which encompass various policy areas. Accession conferences can be held either at ministerial level or at one of deputies.

On June 25, 2024, the EU held its first accession conference with Moldova, formally launching accession negotiations.

Following the progress and reform efforts of Moldova, EU leaders have repeatedly called on the Council to make headway on the accession process, starting with the topic-related group of fundamental elements, in line with the enlargement methodology and the merit-based approach.