EU and Ukraine officially launch membership talks

The first Intergovernmental Conference on Ukraine’s Accession to the EU has begun in Luxembourg, officially launching negotiations on Ukraine’s membership in the European Union.

The conference began with a speech by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal via video link. The floor was then passed to Aggie Labib, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, who holds the presidency of the EU Council for the first half of the year.

Ukraine’s delegation is headed by Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna.

“On behalf of the European Union, I am delighted to welcome the distinguished representatives of Ukraine here today at the opening of the negotiations on your country’s accession to the EU,” said Aja Labib.

At the intergovernmental conference, the parties exchange positions and statements on the accession negotiations.

And the negotiations themselves will actually begin with the opening of negotiating chapters. The first chapters and clusters to be opened will be those dealing with fundamental EU issues.

The optimistic forecast that Ukraine is counting on is that the first chapters or the first chapter will be opened in early 2025.

Negotiations will officially start before Hungary, which is skeptical of Ukraine’s European integration, replaces Belgium on July 1 and takes over the EU presidency and will have more influence on EU decision-making.

The talks will begin more than 10 years after thousands of Ukrainians took to Euromaidan to defend the country’s move toward the EU, and more than two years after the start of a full-scale invasion by Russia, which is seeking to keep Ukraine in its orbit.

Ukraine’s goal is to become a member of the European Union by 2030, although it is unclear how long the negotiation process will take.

On the occasion of the opening of the talks, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and a number of EU leaders delivered speeches.

Tags: Ukraine, EU