The
European Commission will propose opening the first negotiating cluster on
EU membership for Ukraine and Moldova on June 16, Euractiv reported
on May 27, citing a senior Commission official.
EU leaders could then approve the move at a European Council summit on June 18. The first cluster covers democratic, economic, and institutional fundamentals and is opened first but closed last.
The remaining five clusters are expected to be opened for both Ukraine and Moldova in July. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv is ready for talks on all six clusters and expressed hope that the first tranche of an EU support package will arrive on time.
Negotiations had previously been blocked by former Hungarian
PM Viktor Orban. After his defeat in April, the new prime minister, Peter
Magyar, has tied support for Ukraine to the unfreezing of EU funding for
Budapest. He is due to visit Brussels at the end of the week.