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LUXEMBOURG.- The European Union (EU) formally began accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova this Tuesdayat the beginning of a long and complicated path to membership that could extend for years.
The objective of opening talks with Ukraine is to send a message of support to the country 10 years after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula, and after two and a half years of war, after the Russian invasion of February 2022.
“This is a historic moment for all of us and marks a milestone in our relationships”declared Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib, on behalf of the rotating presidency of the EU Council.
“It is a country that is part of Europe, of European history, heritage and culture,” he added, recalling the decision of the European Council of December 14 and 15, 2023 to start accession negotiations with kyiv.
Meeting in Luxembourg, the European Affairs ministers of the EU countries had confirmed on Friday the negotiating table for Ukraine and Moldova, in a step that the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, warmly welcomed. On social network Zelensky said that this is a “historic step” that will allow many Ukrainians to see a “dream” come true.
“Millions of Ukrainians, and indeed generations of our people, are realizing their European dream. Ukraine returns to Europeto which it has belonged for centuries, as a full member of the European community,” he noted.
Ukraine formally presented its offers to join the EU shortly after the start of the Russian invasion to its territory, and even pushed for an accelerated process. The European bloc maintained its support but did not allow immediate incorporation.
He accession process takes several years of complex negotiations between the aspiring countries and the EU institutions in Brussels, a process that can take up to a decade.
Türkiye began formal accession talks in 2005, and the situation remains deadlocked. Albania was recognized as a candidate country in 2003, and began formal talks in 2009, which have not yet been completed. Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and North Macedonia are also waiting in line, with growing impatience
So, It is possible that negotiations will advance but at a slower pace than kyiv dreamed of. This pace will be marked not only by Russia’s actions but also by the reluctance of EU countries, such as Hungary.
Ukraine has so far received praise for implementing a series of reforms to curb corruption and political interference, but has not won more specific promises.
“It is a great credit to the Ukrainian government that it has made such rapid progress towards wartime accession,” Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin said on Monday.
In his opinion, this “reflects a level of competence and a genuine commitment on the part of the Ukrainian government to join the European Union.”
The war in Ukraine has revitalized a push in the EU to incorporate new membersafter years in which countries, particularly in the Western Balkans, made little progress in their hopes of uniting.
In December 2023, the EU also granted formal candidate status to Georgia, another of Russia’s former Soviet neighbors.
This Tuesday’s EU meetings with Ukraine and Moldova will begin a evaluation process of the extent to which the laws of those two countries already meet EU standards and how much more work remains to be done.
Once this is done, the EU must begin to establish the conditions for negotiations on 35 issues, ranging from the tax system to environmental policy. However, it does not seem very likely that this dialogue will make progress at least this year.
Hungary will assume the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU on July 1 and has already announced that dialogue with Ukraine is not part of the priorities of his semester of management.
Tuesday’s talks come at a particularly sensitive time for Moldova, with the United States, Britain and Canada warning of a Russian plot to influence October’s presidential election.
Caught between war-torn Ukraine and EU member Romania, Moldova frequently accuses Russia of interfering in its internal affairs.
AFP and AP Agency
THE NATION
