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Day: August 14, 2025
Evolving Dynamics in EU Membership Talks: Moldova and Ukraine’s Path Forward
Calls to expedite the EU membership process for Moldova have intensified, with EU lawmaker Siegfried Muresan emphasizing the importance of opening the first negotiation cluster. “A way needs to be found to open the first cluster,” said Muresan, chair of the EU-Moldova Association Committee in the European Parliament. “It would send a signal to Russia. It would take away the argument for the narrative of the Russians, which is to say that there is no progress on the path to EU membership,” reports 24brussels.
However, this push poses a risk of alienating Ukraine, which has closely aligned its EU aspirations with Moldova’s since both countries were granted initial approval from the European Council in 2023. Allowing Moldova to advance while Ukraine remains halted could provoke discontent in Kyiv.
A Ukrainian diplomat expressed concern about the implications of such a move, stating, “There is a danger here of sending the wrong signal to Ukrainians. At a time when future peace is being discussed in Alaska, we need to keep the perspective of EU membership as strong as possible.”
Both Moldova and Ukraine have implemented substantial reforms aimed at meeting EU criteria, with a European Commission spokesperson asserting that they have completed all necessary steps to initiate negotiations. “There is no objective reason to block Cluster 1,” the spokesperson noted in an email.
Powerful message
The situation is complicated further by Hungary’s opposition to Ukraine’s EU accession, driven by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has made this stance a cornerstone of his reelection campaign. Orbán’s resistance continues to hold back Ukraine’s ambitions to join the bloc, complicating the dynamics of EU enlargement and raising concerns over the implications for regional stability and cooperation.
Daniel Billings’ lawyer tells Parkes local court negotiations continuing, with defence and prosecution teams to meet later in August
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Prosecutors have been told to speak to the bereaved family of Molly Ticehurst, as the case against the man accused of her domestic violence murder drags on 16 months after her death.
Daniel Billings, 30, is charged with murdering Ticehurst at her home in Forbes, central western NSW, in the early hours of April 22, 2024.
Raid, apparently not communicated to local officials, one of several recently targeting stores in southern California
A man was hit by a vehicle and killed as he attempted to get away from federal immigration officers who were raiding a Home Depot in Los Angeles county on Thursday morning, according to authorities.
Little has been disclosed about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) operation that led to the incident, but officials in Monrovia, a diverse LA suburb tucked into the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains, confirmed agents had been seen at the store by city police officers shortly before 10am local time. Shortly after, Monrovia fire & rescue responded to reports of a pedestrian struck on the 210 freeway, a large interstate with four lanes in each direction.