The European Union launched on Monday the procedure for the examination of applications for membership of theUkrainefrom Georgia and some Moldovaannounced the French Presidency of the Council of the EU.
An extensive procedure
The three countries filed their claim following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The European Commission will have to express an official opinion and the 27 will then have to decide whether to grant candidate status to the applicants, before long and complex negotiations. The European Commission took two years to deliver its opinion following the application for membership of the Romania.
Unanimity required
The representatives of Member States in Brussels reached “an agreement to invite the European Commission to present an opinion on each of the applications for EU membership submitted by Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova”, said the presidency on its Twitter account. A written procedure was launched on Monday to “validate” by the Member States “the draft letters intended to seek the opinion of the European Commission”, adds the message. Several member states have supported the approach of the three countries, but the procedure is long and membership requires unanimity. “We will discuss Ukraine’s application for membership in the coming days,” European Council President Charles Michel assured Monday in a message on twitter following a new interview with the President. Volodymyr Zelensky.
An urgent request from Ukraine
The Ukrainian president urges Europeans to integrate his country “without delay”. But there is no procedure for this. Integration into the EU is a long-term process to bring the legislation of the candidate country closer to European law. It requires complex negotiations on many subjects and criteria that are difficult to meet for a country at war, such as political stability and a viable market economy.
