EU Opens Formal Accession Talks With Ukraine and Moldova

All 27 EU member states unanimously approved opening the first cluster of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on June 12, 2026. The move signals entry into substantive legislative alignment—focusing initially on rule of law, judicial reform, and anti-corruption. The second Accession Conference convened in Luxembourg on June 15 to formally begin talks. This phase gates progress on remaining policy chapters and typically spans years. Ukraine faces the added pressure of harmonizing governance standards while fighting Russia—a condition without precedent in EU enlargement history.