Grant EU Candidate Status to Ukraine and Moldova Without Delay, MEPs Demand
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Friday, June 24, 2022
With 529 votes to 45 and 14 abstentions, European Parliament adopted a resolution on Thursday calling on the Heads of State/Government - who hold their summit on June 23-24 in Brussels in European Council - to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova ‘without delay’. They should do the same with Georgia ‘once its government has delivered’ on the priorities indicated by the European Commission.
“In the context of the brutal Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, this move would equate to showing leadership, resolve and vision,” say MEPs. They insist that there is no ‘fast-track’ for EU membership and that accession remains a merit-based and structured process, which requires EU membership criteria to be fulfilled and is dependent on the effective implementation of reforms.
Parliament invites the authorities of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia to ‘unambiguously demonstrate their political determination to implement the European ambitions of their people’, accelerating reforms in order to effectively fulfil the criteria for EU membership as soon as possible.
Ukrainians, Moldovans and Georgians deserve to live in free, democratic and prosperous countries that are proud and committed members of the European family, MEPs state, urging the European Council to take an important first step towards fulfilling the legitimate aspirations of the citizens of these three countries.
The resolution stresses that there is no alternative to enlargement, which is ‘more than ever a geostrategic investment’ in a stable, strong and united EU. The prospect of full EU membership for the countries striving to become member states is in the European Union’s own political, economic and security interests. MEPs demand that the enlargement process be ‘re-energised’ and unblocked as regards the Western Balkans.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Joseph Borrell addressed Georgians ahead of an EU summit in Brussels saying that “this is a step forward, they should not look at it negatively, they [Georgians] now have a clear path, they have things to do, a schedule. That is a significant step forward, keep working on it, you are on the right track.”
Asked when Georgia will meets the criteria, whether it will be granted candidate status, Borrell said it would definitely be so. “Exactly when the criteria are met, the candidate status will be granted automatically,” Borell said.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that the blood shed by the Georgian people in wars fought against Russia over the decades was one of the clearest arguments why the country deserved the European Union membership candidate status. The responded to the EP’s resolution while addressing soldiers gathered at the opening ceremony of the Wounded Fighters' Week in Tserovani.
PM referred to the Georgian servicemembers’ demonstration of exemplary heroism in the 2008 war against Russia, pointing out the EU’s decision on not granting the status to Georgia outright had put all this into question.
“We do not compare ourselves to anyone's army, but we, Georgians, survived until today with 2 main forces: this is our faith, our church and our army, our people, our fighting spirit. Today, unfortunately, this has been put into question.”
Garibashvili underlined he was happy with the success of Ukraine and Moldova in receiving membership candidate status, but stressed Georgia had deserved the status more than the Associated Trio partners.
“We all understand very well that today in the world there is a different state of affairs, very difficult processes are taking place. We must face this peacefully and continue to move forward, to strengthen our country, to strengthen our army, to defend our country, to protect our people”, he said. Our main dream is that one day we will meet in a united and strong Georgia. This should be the main unifying idea of our nation and our people”.
On June 17, the European Commission issued recommendations that Ukraine and Moldova should be granted a European perspective and EU candidate status on mandatory terms, while Georgia should be given a European perspective. In order to receive the status of a candidate, the fulfillment of the relevant conditions by the country must be evaluated. The recommendations of the European Commission are accompanied by a list of conditions to be met by all three countries.
Among the 12 conditions to be met by Georgia for EU candidate status are: overcoming political polarization, proper functioning of institutions and their independence, real independence and impartiality of the judiciary, effective investigation of elite corruption cases, de-oligarchization, free media environment, etc.
Ukraine (on 28 February), the Republic of Moldova and Georgia (both on 3 March) applied for EU membership in the wake of the Russian attack against Ukraine. On 17 June, the Commission published opinions on the 3 applications, recommending that the Council confirm Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia’s perspectives of becoming member states of the EU.
Recall that Article 49 of the EU Treaty establishes that any European country that respects the values referred to in Article 2 and is committed to promoting them may apply to become a member of the European Union. The decision on new EU membership is taken unanimously by the Council, after consulting the Commission and getting Parliament’s consent.
