The European Union (EU) on July 14 expanded the second phase of membership talks with Ukraine, as Kiev accelerated progress in its efforts to join the bloc.
The move comes after the 27-nation bloc officially launched the first phase of membership talks with Ukraine last month, after a prolonged delay due to opposition from Hungary. EU membership requires candidate countries to negotiate through six "clusters" of topics to harmonize with the bloc's laws.
On July 14, EU ministers met in Brussels with their Ukrainian counterparts to open negotiations on security, defense and foreign policy. Despite progress, this move has not yet met the expectations of both Ukraine and Brussels about starting negotiations on all issues before the European summer vacation begins.
Kiev is not the only EU candidate making progress. "Today is a super Tuesday for the EU expansion process. Today's progress now needs to be transformed into real-world results," EU Commissioner Marta Kos said.
Moldova, which applied to join at the same time as Ukraine, is also opening its second negotiating area. Meanwhile, Montenegro, the leading candidate to become the next member of the bloc, is completing more negotiation topics, along with Albania.
