{"id":2758,"date":"2026-06-13T01:31:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T08:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/13\/eu-agrees-to-launch-membership-talks-with-ukraine-next-week-even-as-war-with-russia-drags-on\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T01:31:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T08:31:25","slug":"eu-agrees-to-launch-membership-talks-with-ukraine-next-week-even-as-war-with-russia-drags-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/13\/eu-agrees-to-launch-membership-talks-with-ukraine-next-week-even-as-war-with-russia-drags-on\/","title":{"rendered":"EU agrees to launch membership talks with Ukraine next week even as war with Russia drags on"},"content":{"rendered":"
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BRUSSELS (AP) \u2014 European Union nations agreed on Friday to open membership talks with Ukraine next week, officially launching the process for the war-torn country to eventually join the world\u2019s biggest trading bloc.<\/p>\n

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At a meeting in Brussels, ambassadors from the 27 EU nations decided to officially open negotiations with Ukraine as well as with Moldova, which Russia has also tried to drag back into its orbit, on Monday in Luxembourg.<\/p>\n

Ukraine sees EU membership as an important \u201csecurity guarantee\u201d for a stable future once war with Russia ends.<\/p>\n

Its best guarantee would be NATO membership, but the Trump administration insists that cannot happen. Others oppose it joining while fighting continues. Russia is strongly against it, and has cited moves toward NATO membership as a reason for launching its full-scale invasion in 2022, though it has not objected to EU membership for Kyiv.<\/p>\n

Countries hoping to join the EU must complete negotiations in 35 policy areas, or chapters, ranging from agriculture to trade, a process which can take years.<\/p>\n

An intergovernmental conference will be held on Monday to open key chapters \u2013 grouped together as \u201cclusters\u201d \u2013 concerning the values and principles on which the bloc was founded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a recognition of the determination, courage and hard work shown by both countries in advancing reforms, even in the face of immense challenges,\u201d EU Council President Ant\u00f3nio Costa and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

They described the move as \u201ca strategic choice\u201d that strengthens \u201cpeace, security and prosperity across our continent.\u201d It\u2019s also a \u201csignal that the EU\u2019s offer of peace, stability and opportunity is unmatchable,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

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Ukraine officially applied for EU accession less than a week after Russia invaded in February 2022. The EU commission has praised the country for reforms it has been able to push through in wartime, although deep concerns about corruption and justice standards remain.<\/p>\n

Last month, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged his EU partners to consider offering \u201cassociate membership\u201d to Ukraine and breathe new life into talks aimed at ending more than four years of war with Russia.<\/p>\n

Other countries \u2013 France and the Netherlands among them \u2013 have suggested work arounds to bring Ukraine into the fold more quickly but without the rights of full membership.<\/p>\n

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It all comes as the EU weighs whether to try to launch its own negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with U.S. mediated talks bogged down while America\u2019s attention focuses on the Iran war.<\/p>\n

Under Merz\u2019s proposals, Ukraine would take part in EU meetings, but without voting rights, and would also have non-voting \u201cassociate members\u201d of the bloc\u2019s powerful executive branch, the European Commission, and the European Parliament.<\/p>\n

All 27 EU members must agree before each policy chapter can be opened, and then again for it to be closed. Hungary, notably, has blocked the opening of negotiations, but the arrival of a new government in Budapest has softened that stance.<\/p>\n

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Ukraine sees EU membership as an important \u201csecurity guarantee\u201d for a stable future once war with Russia ends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"yoast_head":"\nEU agrees to launch membership talks with Ukraine next week even as war with Russia drags on - Los Angeles Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/13\/eu-agrees-to-launch-membership-talks-with-ukraine-next-week-even-as-war-with-russia-drags-on\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EU agrees to launch membership talks with Ukraine next week even as war with Russia drags on - 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