EU, Kiev open first EU accession negotiations cluster

BRUSSELS. June 16 (Interfax) - The Council of the European Union announced on Monday that the EU and Ukraine have opened the first accession negotiations cluster, the Fundamentals cluster.

"The future of Ukraine and its citizens is firmly anchored in the European Union," Deputy Minister for European affairs of the Republic of Cyprus Marilena Raouna said.

The Fundamentals cluster covers the core values and principles on which the EU is built. It includes the EU acquis related to the rule of law and fundamental rights, the functioning of democratic institutions, public administration reform, and economic criteria.

The negotiating chapters of this cluster deal with judiciary and fundamental rights, justice, freedom and security, public procurement, statistics, and financial control.

"Negotiations on the Fundamentals cluster are the first ones to be opened and the last ones to be closed in the accession process. Progress under this cluster will determine the overall pace of negotiations," the Council of the EU said in a statement.

Monitoring of progress in the alignment with and implementation of the EU legislation and relevant European standards will continue throughout the negotiations, the statement said.