The European Commission has confirmed a positive oral assessment of Ukraine and Moldova's progress in European integration reforms at today's Committee of Permanent Representatives of the European Union (COREPER) meeting.

According to Ana Pisonero, the spokesperson for the European Commission, Kyiv has met the necessary criteria in anti-corruption, political lobbying control, official transparency, and ensuring the rights of national minorities, as recommended by the European Commission's 2023 enlargement report.

"We consider that both countries have taken all steps. Now the decision is up to the member states - they are tasked with adopting the accession framework, and it is up to the Presidency of the Council to convene an intergovernmental conference to formally start negotiations," said Pisonero.

She did not specify whether COREPER shared the European Commission's assessment.

The European Council supported opening accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova last December. In March of this year, the European Commission prepared framework drafts for the accession negotiations of Ukraine and Moldova.

After internal discussions of the texts proposed by the European Commission, the Council must approve the negotiating framework. Following this, the country holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union will present an agreed common position at the first intergovernmental conference with each country, thus officially starting the accession negotiations.

The European Union and Ukraine hope to officially start negotiations by the end of June, as the presidency of the Council of the European Union will be transferred to Hungary in July.

Previously, it was reported that at the meeting of EU ambassadors on May 29, Hungary blocked the approval of the project for Ukraine's accession negotiations to the European Union due to concerns over the rights of national minorities.