The statement said all member states had agreed to open the "fundamentals" cluster, which the two EU leaders described as the backbone of the accession process. The Council's meeting notice for Ukraine says the second Accession Conference with Ukraine will be held in Luxembourg on 15 June and will open negotiations on cluster 1: fundamentals.
The distinction matters. The Council's Ukraine background page says accession negotiations with Ukraine were formally opened in June 2024, and the Council's Moldova page gives the same June 2024 opening for Moldova. Friday's decision therefore moves the two candidates into the first substantive cluster of talks rather than making either country an imminent EU member.
The Council notice for Ukraine says the fundamentals cluster covers the rule of law and fundamental rights, the functioning of democratic institutions, public-administration reform and economic criteria. It lists five negotiating chapters inside the cluster: judiciary and fundamental rights; justice, freedom and security; public procurement; statistics; and financial control.
Euronews, reporting from Brussels, also described Friday's agreement as the opening of the first cluster of accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova. Its report said the agreement followed Hungary's decision to lift a veto that had held up progress on the candidates' accession path.
Ukraine and Moldova have moved through the EU process in parallel since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Council says Ukraine applied for EU membership on 28 February 2022 and received candidate status on 23 June 2022. The Council's Moldova page says Moldova applied on 3 March 2022 and also received candidate status on 23 June 2022.
Costa and von der Leyen framed the new step as recognition of reforms in both countries and as a strategic enlargement choice for the EU. Their statement said the fundamentals cluster covers core values and principles, including the rule of law and strong democratic institutions.
The counterpoint is that the accession process remains conditional and slow. The Council's Ukraine meeting notice does not set a membership date, and the opening of one cluster does not close any chapter. Each chapter must still be negotiated, benchmarked and eventually closed by agreement among member states.