European Commission confirms Ukraine's readiness for EU accession talks

BRUSSELS. July 1 (Interfax) - Ukraine deserves to start EU accession talks, while the national consultations on the issue held in Hungary does not exceed the country's jurisdiction, European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier said.

"The [European] Commission has assessed that Ukraine has met criteria to open the first cluster, the cluster of the fundamentals. And there's no objective reasons in this case to object the opening of cluster, one on the fundamentals," Mercier said at a press briefing in Brussels on Tuesday.

He said he was hoping that negotiations on that cluster could be finalized rapidly.

"On the national consultations that took place in Hungary, our position is very clear. We take note of the results of this national consultation. The Hungarian government called and organized this non-binding consultation and, as you know, national consultations are a matter for the national authorities, so it is now up to Hungary, and the Hungarian parliament to explain how they would like to take it forward," Mercier said, answering the corresponding question.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced results of national consultations on Ukraine's entry into the European Union last week. He said that 2.278 million people cast ballots and 95% of them voted against Ukraine's entry into the EU.

It was reported that at summit held on June 26, Hungary blocked the proposal to open the first cluster of negotiations on Ukraine's EU accession, supported then by 26 member states.

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