In a historic move, Ukraine and Moldova entered talks for membership in the European Union at intergovernmental conferences in Luxembourg on Tuesday. Both countries submitted applications to the group in early 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but they hadn’t moved forward in the process until now.
While this is a major milestone in the accession process, it isn’t likely that Ukraine and Moldova will be granted membership anytime soon.
What steps will Ukraine and Moldova take to becoming EU members?
Negotiations likely won’t start for months, CNN reported, though the two countries are in the preliminary phase of getting their standards and laws evaluated by the group for alignment with the bloc.
Ukraine and Moldova will have to meet various requirements, called the chapters of the acquis, to be admitted into the EU. There are 35 chapters that designate requirements regarding economic, social, educational and agricultural policies, among others. They include the free movement of goods, information society and media, energy, transport policy and taxation.
All 35 chapters must be aligned and agreed upon, having been opened, negotiated and closed. This process is expected to surpass a decade and neither Ukraine nor Moldova have met the requirements to even begin these negotiations. For Ukraine, conditions of war make this especially difficult, and for Moldova, domestic political issues cast doubt on its membership potential, CNN reported.
How are Ukrainian and Moldovan politicians reacting?
“We fully understand that there is still much work ahead of us on the path to accession,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said, per The Associated Press. “We are ready for it. We have demonstrated that we can move swiftly and achieve the impossible.”
Olga Stefanishyna, deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine, said she hopes this next step gives her people “the moral power to continue withstanding” Russian forces, AP reported.
Per AP, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said the move “signifies the strong commitment of both sides to European peace, security, stability and prosperity” and that the country “will spare no effort to achieve our strategic goal of becoming an EU member.”