the European Commission recommends opening accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova

“Today is a historic day”. The European Commission recommended on Wednesday November 8 to open accession discussions to the European Union (EU) with Ukraine and Moldova. “Enlargement is a vital policy for the EU”, declared Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a press conference from Brussels (Belgium). The 27 member states must now validate this proposal at a European council.

The decision was eagerly awaited, as Kiev and Chisinau had obtained the status of candidate countries in June 2022. The Ukrainian parliament has since adopted numerous laws to bring the country’s law into line with European law, following the Commission’s recommendations. These announcements coincide with the publication of the Commission’s annual report on EU enlargement. In the latter, the European executive also recommends granting Georgia the status of candidate country and opening accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina once “compliance with the membership criteria has been achieved”.

The road is still long for Ukraine

“Previous enlargements show that the benefit, for already member countries and countries joining the EU, is enormous”pleaded the European leader, judging the day “historical”. The road to membership is still long for Ukraine, with the opening of negotiations not guaranteeing a place in the EU. For example, the case of Serbia, which has been negotiating with the EU since 2014, without much progress so far. The very technical negotiation process will be divided into around thirty chapters covering all subjects managed by the EU, such as taxation, minority rights, the environment or the free movement of goods and people. These chapters aim to verify that the law of the candidate country is in concordance with the “community acquis”in other words EU law.