European Union EU takes first step with Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova – EU members ask for Commission assessment of applications

Policy|European Union

Brussels

European the member states decided on monday to take the first step towards the EU membership of ukraine, georgia and moldova.

The EU ambassadors present decided to ask the EU Commission for an opinion on Ukraine’s, Georgia’s and Moldova’s applications for membership. The practical work is being done by the current French Presidency, which is also expected to raise the issue at the informal EU summit in Paris later this week.

Membership has been a long-term goal for countries, but the EU has signaled in many ways that it will not happen very easily and quickly. It usually takes years to process an application for membership, and there are others waiting in line for a long time.

However, the EU has understood that the green light for membership at this stage is an important signal from the EU to both these countries and Russia.

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyi signed his country’s membership application a week ago. He immediately received support from the former Eastern European countries when the presidents of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia demanded in its joint opinion Ukraine’s candidate status. Hungary later joined the ranks.

Read more: Ukraine wants to join the European Union quickly – Minister Tuppurainen: “We too must prepare for this debate”

Ukraine has called for a swift application for membership, but the EU does not have a quick band to join.

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Pekka Haavisto (Green) emphasized the importance of the EU adhering to its rules and processes following Friday’s EU Foreign Ministers’ meeting. According to Haavisto, there are other forms than membership that can facilitate co-operation between the countries and the EU.

EU the current candidates are Albania, northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey.

Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina are still awaiting candidate status.

Albania, for example, applied for membership in 2009 and obtained candidate status in June 2014. In fact, negotiations started in 2020 and are still ongoing.

Northern Macedonia was nominated in 2005, Montenegro in 2010, Serbia in 2009 and Turkey in 1999.

EU according to the membership criteria, member states must have stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the rights and protection of minorities.

A member state must have a functioning market economy that is able to survive in the EU’s competitive internal market. In addition, it must be able to impose various membership obligations.

There are lengthy negotiations with each candidate country on whether they will be able to adopt EU legislation and what transition periods they will need. In the negotiations, EU legislation and standards are divided into 35 different entities, each of which is negotiated separately.

The pace of admitting new members has slowed in recent years. The most recent EU member to join in 2013 was Croatia.