EU opens membership talks with Ukraine
BRUSSELS. June 25 (Interfax) - Luxembourg hosted a ministerial conference to discuss Ukraine's accession to the European Union on Tuesday.
"The negotiations are aimed at Ukraine integrally adopting the EU acquis and ensuring its full implementation and enforcement," Hadja Lahbib, the foreign minister of Belgium which currently presides in the Council of the EU, said at the conference.
She said her speech set out the EU position.
The talks will focus in particular on the judicial reform, combatting corruption, protection and non-discrimination of ethnic minorities, Lahbib said.Ukraine's accession prospects should be approached honestly, "the route will be long and not always be an easy one," Lahbib said after the first round of the conference. EU "member states will decide when Ukraine fulfills the conditions to move ahead based on objective progress," she said.
The EU will support Kiev "on every step of the way. You are not alone. We are with you," Lahbib said.
The EU will help Ukraine with implementing reforms, EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said at the press conference.
"Our role is to make sure that Ukraine will be well-prepared, including on important issues such as the rule of law, fundamental rights, socio-economic policies, the whole wide spectrum of the EU acquis," Varhelyi said.
Now the negotiating parties will jointly consider these EU achievements "to identify all the major issues to be addressed during the negotiations, as well as the areas where preparations need to be intensified," he said.
Conferences with Ukraine and Moldova are only the "beginning of a long process," European Council President Charles Michel said in a statement on Tuesday.
"While today we celebrate a significant step forward, we must also recognize that the road ahead will require sustained effort, dedication, and further substantial reforms," Michel said.
The EU united position on negotiations was approved by the Council of the EU on June 21.
Ukraine met all preconditions for the opening of formal talks, the European Commission said on June 7.
The decision to begin Ukraine's membership talks was made by the Council of the EU on December 14, 2023.
Ukraine formally became an EU candidate in June 2022.