(ANSA-AFP) - BRUSSELS, MAY 21 - Several EU countries on
Tuesday called for the bloc to start membership negotiations
with Ukraine and Moldova in June, but Hungary threatened to
throw a spanner in the works. The 27-nation EU took the landmark
step in December of agreeing to open talks on its war-torn
neighbour -- and fellow ex-Soviet state Moldova -- joining the
club. But to actually begin the negotiations the bloc's member
states still have to sign off on a formal framework for the
process, proposed in March by Brussels. At a meeting in
Brussels, France's EU affairs minister Jean-Noel Barrot called
for "the effective opening of negotiations" before Belgium's
rotating presidency concludes at the end of June. That statement
was echoed by other ministers -- including from Ireland and
Sweden. (ANSA-AFP).
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
