BRUSSELS, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Ukraine took a step forward in its European Union membership bid on Tuesday, opening talks with the bloc on internal market and competitiveness standards, Irish Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne said, after Hungary dropped its objections.
The Hungarian government backed the move after Ukraine’s parliament passed legislation on Monday expanding the rights of Hungarian speakers and other minorities to receive education in their native language.
The EU accession process normally involves years-long complex negotiations, further complicated in the case of Ukraine by the ongoing war.
As part of the process, candidate countries negotiate policy “chapters” which are grouped into six thematic clusters, including fundamental rights, the bloc’s internal market and external relations.
The EU opened negotiations with Ukraine on the first set of policy issues — such as the judiciary and functioning of democratic institutions — in June. The two sides opened negotiations on the external relations cluster in July.
(Reporting by Lili Bayer, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Inti Landauro)
