Breaking news… The leaders of the European Union (EU) countries signed a remarkable decision and decided to grant Ukraine and Moldova the status of “candidate country”.
The decision was announced during the EU leaders’ summit meeting in Brussels.
European Council President Charles Michel described the decision as “historic” in a statement in Ukrainian and Romanian on social media.
“Today’s decision represents a very important step towards the EU.” said Michel, congratulated the peoples of Ukraine and Moldova.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Moldovan President Maia Sandu and said, “Your countries are part of the European family. Today’s historic decisions of the leaders confirm this.” used the phrase.
Ukraine submitted its candidacy application to the EU on 28 February 2022, 4 days after the start of the Russian offensive, and Moldova and Georgia on 3 March 2022. The European Council had invited the EU Commission to present its opinion on 7 March.
REJECTION FOR GEORGIA
On 17 June, the EU Commission gave its opinion on granting candidacy status to Ukraine and Moldova. For Georgia, the Commission recommended that its situation be reassessed later, provided that it presents a European perspective and meets the criteria.
Candidate status is the first step in a country’s long-term EU accession process. After a country is granted candidate status, accession negotiations begin in the following stages, provided that the conditions are met. Accession negotiations can take years to begin. (AA)