International

The European Commission will recommend the start of EU accession talks with Ukraine this month in a bid to signal support to the war-torn country before Budapest takes over the rotating presidency of the bloc, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Kyiv applied for EU membership in the weeks following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and was granted candidate status just a few months later, in one of the fastest decisions by the bloc catalysed by Moscow’s aggression.

Russia’s war has prompted an overhaul of the EU’s enlargement process, as Ukraine and Moldova became candidate countries in June 2022 and Georgia in late 2023, while also accelerating talks with some of the six western Balkan candidates after years of stasis.

The commission is pushing for formal talks to begin with Kyiv and Chisinau this month to give a positive signal to both countries on their EU aspirations. On Friday it will declare that Ukraine now meets previously outstanding criteria including anti-corruption measures, restrictions on political lobbying, rules on asset declarations for public officials and protection of languages used by national minorities.