The European Union will formally open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on Monday, after ambassadors from all 27 member states agreed at a meeting in Brussels on Friday to proceed with the first cluster of talks. European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the breakthrough in a joint statement, calling it "a recognition of the determination, courage and hard work shown by both countries in advancing reforms, even in the face of immense challenges."

The path to Monday's talks had been blocked for months by Hungary under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose government maintained close ties with Moscow and opposed Ukraine's membership bid. Orbán was ousted in elections in April, and Hungary's new government, led by Prime Minister Péter Magyar, agreed last week to lift the veto. A key factor in the shift was a deal struck between Budapest and Kyiv over the rights of Ukraine's ethnic Hungarian minority — a long-standing source of tension between the two neighbouring countries. Despite the breakthrough, Magyar has made clear that Hungary does not support a fast-track membership process, and has indicated that Budapest would hold a referendum on Ukrainian accession if Kyiv were to close all 33 negotiating chapters within the next 10 to 15 years.

The accession process was formally opened in June 2024, largely as a symbolic gesture of solidarity following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. For both Ukraine and Moldova — a small landlocked country bordered by Ukraine to the north, east and south, and Romania to the west — EU membership represents not only economic integration but an important layer of security against Russian pressure. Moscow, which describes the post-Soviet states as its "near abroad," has consistently opposed the westward orientation of its neighbours.

Monday's talks will begin with the "fundamentals" cluster, which covers core principles including the rule of law, judicial independence and fundamental rights — the foundation on which all other accession chapters are built. The full process typically unfolds over many years and requires candidate countries to align their laws and institutions across dozens of policy areas, from agriculture to competition rules to foreign policy.

Costa and von der Leyen framed the decision in broader geopolitical terms: "Enlargement is a strategic choice. In a world marked by growing uncertainty, a larger European Union is in our common interest." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has consistently made EU membership a central war aim, arguing that European integration offers Ukraine lasting political and economic anchoring in the Western mainstream.