On June 15, Luxembourg will be the venue for two separate intergovernmental conferences aimed at launching the first cluster, “Foundations,” for Ukraine and Moldova. This initiative comes as part of the ongoing discussions regarding the countries’ integration into the European Union.
According to sources familiar with the matter, these conferences will take place concurrently, with preparations already underway at the working group and ambassadorial levels in Brussels. The European Union is expected to finalize a unified negotiating position concerning Cluster 1 for both nations next week.
The development is significant, following an announcement from the Cypriot presidency of the EU, which initiated the formal process for opening the cluster for Ukraine. Additionally, EU ambassadors have been actively preparing for this milestone.
Contextually, this progress follows a statement made on June 3 by Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Mádjár, who indicated that Hungary had reached a comprehensive agreement with Ukraine regarding the rights of the Hungarian national minority. Mádjár had previously emphasized that Hungary would only unblock the negotiation clusters if Ukraine met 11 specific demands related to minority rights.
Luxembourg is set to host two intergovernmental conferences on June 15 to initiate the first cluster for Ukraine and Moldova's EU integration. Preparations are in progress, and a unified negotiating position is expected to be established soon.