BRUSSELS, November 4. /TASS/. The European Commission has issued a repeated recommendation to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union and expressed hope that this will happen by the end of the year, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos stated while speaking in the European Parliament.
She emphasized that Kiev has fulfilled all the criteria for this.
The European Commission made a similar recommendation last year, but the practical start of negotiations was blocked by Hungary in the EU Council due to the oppression of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine.
Kos also expressed support for Moldova's ambitions to complete EU accession negotiations by 2028. The problem lies in the fact that Moldova and Ukraine are grouped together under the EU accession rules within the same enlargement group, and their accession stages are synchronized. Consequently, negotiations with Moldova cannot begin until negotiations with Ukraine are launched.