EU-Moldova membership talks to start in mid-June - EU commissioner for enlargement

CHISINAU. June 4 (Interfax) - The official talks over Moldova's integration with the European Union will open in the middle of June, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said.

"Very soon, and this would be in the middle of June, we will finally formally open the most important cluster in the negotiating process, this is the Fundamentals. You didn't wait that the future will be done by somebody else. You were working already on your future, and this pays off. It will allow us to formalize the process and the work you have done through this waiting time," Kos said at an EU-Moldova Investment Conference in Chisinau on Thursday.

Moldova has already made some progress in its "rule of law reforms," enabling it to lay the "foundation for your future membership of the EU," Kos said. Chisinau has met 93% of the Growth Plan terms, placing it in first place ahead of other candidates implementing similar programs, she said. "This builds trust. We see your progress, we see your potential, and so do many investors. Investors are already betting on Moldova's European future," Kos said.

On Thursday Cyprus, which currently presides in the Council of the EU, invited Moldova and Ukraine to begin talks over the first cluster of issues regarding EU membership. A decision to open the first cluster of talks will be made at the Council's meeting on June 16. Technically, the negotiations have been ongoing for almost a year now.

Moldovan authorities have set themselves the goal of signing an EU membership agreement in 2028 and securing full membership by 2030, with the agreement ratified in all EU national parliaments.