Ukraine and Moldova became candidates for EU membership

At the summit EU heads of state and government of 27 countries decided to grant Ukraine and Moldova the status of a candidate for joining the European Union.

The head of the European Council, Charles Michel, announced on June 23 that they were recognized as candidate countries and given a European perspective:

“Today we have decided to recognize the European perspective of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, we have decided to grant candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova, and we are ready to grant candidate status to Georgia as soon as the priorities (conditions proposed by the European Commission) are implemented. This is a historic moment.”

Correspondent DW quotes European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen:

“This is a defining moment and a good day for Europe… There could be no better signal of hope for the citizens of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia in these troubled times. Of course, all three countries must do their homework before moving on to the next stages of the accession process. EU But I’m sure they will all move as quickly as possible and work as diligently as possible to implement the necessary reforms.”

The European Commission proposed seven steps, the implementation of which by Ukraine is a prerequisite. For Moldova, these are nine steps. But Kyiv and Chisinau will have to fulfill them after receiving the status. For Ukraine, for example, the conditions relate primarily to judicial reform, the fight against corruption and deoligarchization. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called the decision of the summit a victory:

“This is a victory. We have waited 120 days and 30 years. This is a unique historical moment in relations between Ukraine and the European Union. The future of Ukraine is in the EU.”

On June 17, the EC approved the conclusions on the applications of Kyiv, Chisinau and Tbilisi for EU membership. She is recommended recognize Ukraine and Moldova as candidate countries, subject to a number of conditions. The commission recommended that Georgia be given the status of a candidate only after the fulfillment of certain conditions.

Head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell, in a joint video message with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, announced yesterday immediate preparations for Ukraine’s integration into European structures and final EU membership:

“We will immediately launch preparations for Ukraine’s integration into European structures and eventual EU membership. This is a key moment for us, the EU, as well as for Ukraine, and for peace and democracy on our common continent, because we live on the European continent. The Russian military aggression cannot deprive the people of Europe of the right to live a normal, dignified life.” Ukraine will win, Europe will win.”

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