All EU members greenlight first step in accession talks, Ukraine PM says

All members of the European Union agreed to open talks with Ukraine and Moldova on the first cluster ofissues in their accession talks, Ukrainian Prime

Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said early on Thursday.



"Fantastic news," she wrote on X. "We are one step closer to the EU membership: steadily moving towards our goal."



Cyprus, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, said on X it had starting preparing to formally open negotiation on the first group of negotiating chapters, which cover rule-of-law and democratic standards, with both countries.



"This marks a significant milestone in their European integration path, and sends a strong message of EU unity and determination," it said.



The presidency said it would work "towards finalising the discussions" for the formal opening.