European Commission confirms positive assessment of Ukraine's European integration reforms

The European Commission has confirmed that it has given a positive verbal assessment concerning the process of European integration reforms by Ukraine and Moldova, published in the November enlargement report.

Ana Pisonero, spokesperson for the European Commission, stated at a briefing that the European Commission can confirm that Ukraine has fulfilled the requirements regarding the implementation of the reforms necessary for the start of Ukraine’s accession talks to the EU.

"We consider that all the steps have been met by the two countries…Now the decision is in the hands of the member states. It is for them to adopt the negotiating framework," she said.

Pisonero noted that Kyiv has thus achieved necessary criteria in the selected areas: anti-corruption, political lobbying control, transparency of the officials’ income and the rights of national minorities.

As it is known, the EU and Ukraine seek to officially start the negotiations by the end of June, as on 1 July, the Presidency of Hungary in the Council of the European Union will begin.

Earlier, the media revealed that Hungary was expected to express disagreement, continuing to argue that the rights of the Hungarian minority are being violated.

Before that, it was reported that Hungary had blocked the approval of a draft negotiation framework on Ukraine's accession to the European Union over the issue of minority rights at a meeting of EU ambassadors on 29 May.

The German government announced that Ukraine has fulfilled the requirements for reforms necessary to start negotiations on joining the European Union.