The first Intergovernmental Conference on Ukraine's accession to the EU has started in Luxembourg, which will officially launch negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the European Union.
This was announced by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
This will be followed by a similar first intergovernmental conference on Moldova's accession to the EU, scheduled for 19:00 Kyiv time.
The day before, it was reported that the conference would consist of three parts: an opening statement by Belgium as the EU presidency; a statement by Ukraine; and speeches and remarks by member states.
At the conference, the EU will present to Ukraine a general framework for negotiations that sets out the key principles of the negotiations. The EU Council will also approve the text of the EU-Ukraine security agreement.
Ukraine's delegation is headed by Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna, and the European delegation is headed by Belgian Foreign Minister Aja Labib.
Ukraine aims to become a member of the European Union by 2030, although it is not yet known how long the negotiation process will take.
Earlier today, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking at the first Intergovernmental Conference on Ukraine's accession to the EU, stressed the importance of starting negotiations on Ukraine's European integration.