Sandu and Zelensky
The announcement came on Tuesday, June 22, following the EU–Moldova summit in Brussels, where EU leaders praised the pace of reforms in Chisinau. Brussels made it clear that each candidate country’s future progress will depend on its own results, according to Euronews.
“Once the first cluster is opened, each candidate country is responsible for itself, because it will have to carry out different reforms,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. At the same time, she emphasized: “Right now, I’m only talking about Moldova.”
Moldova and Ukraine were granted EU candidate status in 2022 and have essentially been on the same track ever since. After overcoming months of resistance from Hungary, both countries opened the first negotiation cluster—the “Fundamentals” cluster. It covers issues of the rule of law, the fight against corruption, human rights, and judicial reform.
However, there is a growing sense in Brussels that, as negotiations progress, these processes may be separated.
European Council President António Costa stated that the Moldovan authorities are implementing reforms “very quickly” and that, if the current pace is maintained, the country will be able to promptly open the remaining five negotiation clusters.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who participated in a joint press conference, called on the European Union to open the remaining negotiation chapters without delay. “The five remaining chapters must be opened without delay. As long as we are ready, I am confident that this will happen,” Sandu said.
The EU accession process includes 33 negotiation chapters, grouped into six thematic clusters. According to Brussels’ assessment, both Moldova and Ukraine are technically ready for all clusters to be opened, but political decisions on each stage require the consent of all EU member states.
Last week, the issue was once again in the spotlight during the EU leaders’ summit. Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar opposed the wording calling for the opening of all negotiation clusters with Ukraine as soon as possible. He did not voice any objections regarding Moldova; however, in order to maintain a unified approach, similar wording was also removed from the section on Chisinau.
According to Euronews, discussions about a possible separation of the negotiation processes are becoming increasingly relevant. Some officials consider it unfair to maintain a strict link between Moldova and Ukraine, since one country is continuing reforms in peacetime while the other is at war.
At the same time, Brussels acknowledges that this issue remains extremely sensitive for Kyiv. The EU is seeking to avoid a situation in which Moldova would move rapidly toward membership, while Ukraine faces political blockades from certain member states.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized at the EU summit that Kyiv hopes to move forward alongside Chisinau.
“The first cluster was recently opened, and this is fully deserved by both Ukraine and Moldova. We are ready to move forward. We will be happy to do so together. We can open the remaining five clusters as well,” Zelenskyy said.
