Ukraine's application for EU membership was submitted just days after Russia launched a full-scale invasion over two years ago.
The European Union’s Intergovernmental Conference, where the formal talks are set to begin, will commence in Luxembourg at 3 p.m.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the day as "historic"—one that "Ukraine has been striving toward for decades," he said in a recorded message posted on X on Monday.
Ukraine is entering membership negotiations two years after being granted candidate status.
"This is very good news for our region," said Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski.
He declared that "Poland will support this process during its presidency."
Poland’s six-month EU presidency begins in January next year.
However, the path to EU membership is challenging and long, with negotiations divided into more than 30 chapters that could take years to complete.
"I expect that the most difficult chapters will be agriculture and transport," Sikorski said.
Moldova is also set to begin its accession talks on Tuesday.
(jh/gs)
Source: IAR