The EU is determined to start accession negotiations with Ukraine at the end of June.

EU Officials in Brussels are planning to begin negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union in June.

Even though EU leaders expressed their desire for Ukraine and Moldova to join the union in December of last year, the formal legal procedure for starting membership negotiations was delayed by Hungary. Currently, diplomats from the EU and Kyiv are working intensively to convince the Hungarian government to agree to start negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

After April talks between the Office of the President of Ukraine and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Peter Sijarto, “the parties noted the positive dynamics of the dialogue.” According to a diplomat involved in the process, Kyiv responded to Budapest’s list of 11 points and is waiting for Hungary’s response.

The next step in the accession process is the start of official negotiations through an intergovernmental conference with Ukraine. Belgian officials have already scheduled an intergovernmental conference for June 25.