Romanian President Nicușor Dan admitted his mistake in the statement about the opening of the first negotiation cluster for Moldova’s accession to the European Union, which, according to him, was supposed to take place on July 4. He made this clarification during a press conference held after the European Council meeting in Brussels.

Dan specified that it is actually about the “EU – Moldova” summit, scheduled for July 4 in Chișinău. He explained:

“I was referring to the documents from which the debates began. They were adopted in the form in which they were presented, both regarding the respective clusters. Both, in almost identical texts, speak about the progress made by both countries (Ukraine and Moldova – ed.), and recommend the opening of the cluster. The difference is that the document for the Republic of Moldova was adopted by 27 states, while the document for Ukraine was adopted by 26 states.”

Earlier, on June 26, during the European Council meeting, Dan claimed that the EU would open the first negotiation cluster for Moldova on July 4. However, an EU representative denied this information, stating:

“I’m afraid he misspoke.”

The European Commission representative also added that the division of negotiation processes between Ukraine and Moldova depends solely on the decisions of the EU member states in the Council. He emphasized:

“On our part, we will in any case remain fully committed to providing technical, political, and financial support to Moldova and Ukraine on their path to EU accession. The Commission is also actively involved in the preparation and proposes to open Clusters 1, 2, and 6 for Ukraine and Moldova as soon as all criteria are met.”

The European Council summit took place on June 26-27 in Brussels. The draft communiqué planned for adoption following the meeting mentioned the EU’s readiness to strengthen sanctions against Russia, calls for a ceasefire, and the allocation of the previously promised €30.6 billion.

During the summit, Ukraine’s progress toward EU accession was also discussed. Ukraine submitted documents to the European Commission to open three negotiation clusters: the First – “Foundations of the EU accession process,” the Second – “Internal Market,” and the Sixth – “External Relations.”

However, the negotiation opening process is delayed due to Hungary’s position. The government of that country stated that Ukraine’s EU membership would become a burden both for the bloc and for Hungary itself.

One senior European diplomat reported that all EU countries except Hungary are ready to open negotiations with Ukraine on joining the bloc:

“26 member states are firmly convinced that we should open the first cluster. And we will see whether Prime Minister Orbán agrees to this or not.”

Another diplomat confirmed that the key decision on opening the first negotiation cluster with Ukraine currently depends on Hungary, which is still applying a veto.