The green light for the start of accession negotiations with the EU, Ukraine and Moldova received today from the European Commission. At the same time, for Georgia, the Commission recommends the granting of candidate country status.

“Today is a historic day”said the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Despite the enormous hardships and tragedies from Russia’s war that Ukraine continues to face, “the country is deeply reforming“, emphasized Ursula von der Leyen, which had visited Kiev five days ago. Ukraine, like Moldova, received the status of a candidate country in June 2022. The Commission had set seven criteria that had to be met in order for Ukraine to be granted the opening of accession negotiations.

The President of the Commission stated that Ukraine completed more than 90% of the necessary steps set by the Commission last year.

Particularly, von der Leyen underlined that “progress” has been achieved in constitutional justice reformon the selection of the Supreme Council of Justice, on the anti-corruption programme, on the fight against money laundering, on important measures to limit oligarchs in public life, on the new media law and on progress on the issue of national minorities.

“The rest of the reforms are already on their way – that’s good – and the Commission commends these efforts”von der Leyen added.

On this basis, the Commission today proposed to the Council to open accession negotiations, recommending in parallel to adopt a negotiating framework once Ukraine has carried out the ongoing reforms. On this, the Commission will report to the Council by March 2024.

For her Moldova – “a country suffering from the consequences of the war in Ukraine” – Ursula von der Leyen stressed that “it is the subject of continuous destabilization efforts against its democracy”.

Moldova hosts a large number of Ukrainian refugees, while at the same time facing blackmail regarding its energy system, the Commission emphasizes. At the same time, he points out that Moldova has undertaken significant reform efforts in the field of the judicial system, has accelerated efforts to fight corruption and organized crime, and has made legislative changes to combat vested interests. The Commission recommends that the Council start accession negotiations with Moldova and then finalize the negotiating framework. The Commission will report on progress to the Council by March 2024.

“Today is a day of celebration in Georgia”said Ursula von der Leyen, who however emphasized that this country has yet to undertake “significant reforms»which correspond to the “aspirations of the vast majority of its citizens for EU membership”. According to the Commission, these “ambitions” should be better reflected by the Authorities who are called to cooperate more with the opposition and civil society on matters of national interest. The Commission notes that further progress is required from the Government on the 12 priorities identified last year. At the same time, the Commission recognizes some positive steps, such as the increased control of the opposition in the parliamentary work, the action plan for de-oligarchy and the establishment of an Anti-Corruption Bureau. The Commission therefore recommends the granting of candidate country status to Georgia, given that the government is taking important reform steps.