EU summit outlines no timeframes regarding Moldova accession talks

EU summit outlines no timeframes regarding Moldova accession talks EU leaders expect negotiations to continue "in line with the merit-based approach"BRUSSELS, June 20. /TASS/. The European Council set no timeframes regarding the next stages of accession negotiations with Moldova, which began on June 15, saying in its final statement that it will take the merit-based approach. "The European Council welcomes the holding of the Intergovernmental Conference on the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union and the opening of the fundamentals cluster on 15 June 2026, and looks forward to the opening of the other clusters, in line with the merit-based approach," the statement reads. The European Commission urges to start talks on all other clusters in July, but it will require a unanimous EU decision that could not be reached during the summit. However, the decision may be made at the level of ambassadors in the first weeks of July. A similar statement was issued in connection with Ukraine on June 18. Accession negotiations are aimed at aligning all of a candidate country's legislation with that of the EU. They usually take over 10 years, and there are no rigid timeframes for this process. Turkey, for example, began accession talks in 2005, and they have been ongoing for 20 years without any real prospect of the country joining the bloc. Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, as well as Georgia, and Moldova, have official candidate status for EU accession. 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