EU accession talks with Ukraine to begin with issues of democracy, values — von der Leyen

EU accession talks with Ukraine to begin with issues of democracy, values — von der Leyen On June 15 Ukraine and Moldova will take an important step on their path to the EU, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen saidBRUSSELS, June 14. /TASS/. EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova will begin on June 15 with the Fundamentals cluster dealing with democracy, European values, and the supremacy of law, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. "Tomorrow, Ukraine and Moldova will take a major step on their EU journey," she wrote on X. "The first Intergovernmental Conference will take place in Luxembourg. We will begin work on the Fundamentals cluster, which deals with values, democracy and the rule of law." The EU accession process includes 33 negotiating chapters grouped into six clusters: Fundamentals; Internal Market; Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth; Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity; Resources, Agriculture and Cohesion; and External Relations. The "Fundamentals" cluster consists of the following chapters: Judiciary and Fundamental Right; Justice, Freedom and Security; Public Procurement; Statistics; and Financial Control. Admission talks are meant to synchronize a candidate country’s legislation with that of the European Union. Talks on the rest 28 chapters may open as the candidate country implements Brussels’ requirements related to preliminary reforms. The European Commission has been trying to launch talks with Kiev for two years but Hungary has been blocking the process. The Guardian reported earlier in the day, citing European sources that Kiev has completed not more that 15% of reforms needed to kick off the talks. Such talks typically take more than ten years, with no strict timeframes for that. For instance, Turkey engaged in such talks in 2005 and has not yet been admitted to the European Union and has little chance to do that in the foreseeable future. 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