The EU officially approved the opening of the first negotiation cluster with Ukraine on EU membership

The same decision was made regarding Moldova, according to the Telegram channel Radio Liberty on June 15.

"This means the official start of accession negotiations for both countries. The decision was announced several days ago after Hungary stopped blocking the opening of the talks, having reached agreements with Ukraine on guarantees for the rights of the Hungarian minority. Today, it was officially confirmed during EU enlargement conferences held in Luxembourg with the participation of candidate countries", - the report states.

It is noted that the start of the negotiations was also announced by Ursula von der Leyen.

The first cluster includes the most important political issues, including anti-corruption measures, the rule of law, protection of human rights, and the safeguarding of democratic procedures. During the negotiations, the measures Ukraine must take to harmonize its legislation with EU law will be determined.

There are six clusters in total, and Ukraine expects negotiations on the remaining five to open as early as July. The negotiations themselves, however, may last for many years. For example, Montenegro, which has progressed the furthest among all candidates toward EU membership, began its negotiations in 2012, the report notes.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on her Telegram channel that on this "historic day for Ukraine's European integration path", - she held a conversation with EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.

"Today we expect the opening of Cluster 1, 'Fundamentals of the EU Accession Process,' which will confirm that Ukraine is consistently doing its homework and confidently moving toward membership in the European Union. I thanked Marta Kos for her comprehensive support in bringing our state closer to this goal. We exchanged views on the next joint steps of the government and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in fulfilling our commitments within the European integration process. Our goal is to open the remaining clusters by mid-July during Ireland's presidency of the Council of the European Union", - Svyrydenko noted.

"During our conversation, we condemned another missile strike by the russian aggressor, which cannot come to terms with the fact that Ukraine's path toward the EU is the irreversible choice of the Ukrainian people", - the Prime Minister of Ukraine added.