The EU has approved the start of negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the union

The European Union (EU) countries have approved the start of negotiations on the admission of Ukraine and Moldova to the union. This was announced on June 12 by the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa.

"All member states have agreed to open the first block of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova," Costa wrote on his page on the social network X (ex. Twitter).

According to him, the official start of the negotiation process will begin on Monday, June 15, at an intergovernmental conference. The politician also called European integration a strategic choice of the countries and added that it is a recognition of the "determination, courage and hard work" of the two states.

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The newspaper La Repubblica reported on June 3 that Italy had begun to be more restrained about the idea of Ukraine's accelerated accession to the EU. According to the newspaper, if such a position becomes the official line of the government, it could seriously affect Kiev's European prospects. Renunciation of EU membership would mean for Ukraine the loss of one of the key foreign policy landmarks.

British diplomat Ian Proud, in turn, said on May 7 that the EU states do not want Ukraine to ever become a member of the union. The Financial Times newspaper noted on May 1 that tension between the European Union and Ukraine is growing amid Kiev's demands to speed up the process of joining the union. According to the source, at the European Council summit in Cyprus, the Ukrainian delegation was made clear that the accession process could not be accelerated politically.