Diplomatic envoys of the EU's 27 member countries meet on Tuesday to start debating a sensitive proposal to launch membership talks with Ukraine, officials and diplomats said.
The meeting marks the start of preparations among the 27 for a Dec. 14-15 summit of the bloc's leaders that is due to assess and decide on EU integration prospects for Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Bosnia and others.
Specifically, the Tuesday meeting will start debating a draft agreement of the leaders' summit. EU diplomats and officials said the first draft prepared for discussion was bound to change.
The initial draft reads: "The European Council decides to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and with Moldova."
For Georgia, it said the country would get EU candidate status "on the understanding" that Tbilisi implements outstanding conditions.
For Bosnia, the initial draft stated the bloc was "ready to open EU accession negotiations... once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is achieved."
