(ANSA-AFP) - BRUSSELS, 07 GIU - The European Union's
executive told member states on Friday that Ukraine and Moldova
had met all the criteria needed to launch negotiations to join
the bloc, officials said. A raft of EU countries are pressing
the 27-nation bloc to formally start the talks on June 25 --
after leaders took the landmark decision to open negotiations in
December. But opposition from Hungary, the friendliest country
to Russia in the EU, threatens to derail the move, which
requires the unanimous support of member states. The European
Commission had laid out a series of reforms for war-torn Ukraine
-- and its ex-Soviet neighbour Moldova -- to complete ahead of
the start of talks. In an update to EU ambassadors, the bloc's
executive said Kyiv had fulfilled outstanding requirements,
including efforts to curb the power of oligarchs and better
ensure the rights of ethnic minorities. "We consider that all
the steps have been met by the two countries," a spokeswoman for
the commission said. "Now the decision is in the hands of the
member states." (ANSA-AFP).
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