EU announces start of preparations to open first negotiation cluster with Ukraine and Moldova

The European Union has announced it will begin preparations to open the first negotiation cluster with Ukraine and Moldova in their EU accession talks. The progress was made possible by a recent agreement reached between Budapest and Kyiv. Negotiation clusters are thematic groups of policy areas that candidate countries must align with EU standards during the lengthy accession process. Hungary had previously blocked progress in Ukraine's EU membership negotiations, but the bilateral agreement has now cleared the way for these preliminary steps to move forward.