EU adopts enlargement package recommending talks with Ukraine, Moldova

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) — The EU adopted its 2023 Enlargement Package on Wednesday, which includes a mandate for the bloc to open negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on their full membership.

"Another historic step for the citizens of Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding their EU aspirations," the European Commission said on X.

"We've adopted our 2023 Enlargement Package recommending to open negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, to grant candidate status to Georgia, and to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, once the necessary degree of compliance is achieved," said the commission.

"Completing our Union is the natural horizon," it added.

The commission recommended that the EU Council launch accession negotiations with Ukraine for demonstrating its resolve in making "substantial progress in creating a powerful reform dynamic" despite its ongoing war with Russia.

The same recommendation was made for Moldova, which the commission said has met nine steps set out in its membership application, including reforms on justice, anti-corruption, and public administration.

It added that Georgia had taken steps to strengthen engagement with the bloc and had increased the pace of reforms in recent months to address twelve priorities identified in its membership application, making it eligible for candidate status.

On Bosnia and Herzegovina, the commission said the country "has started to deliver on reforms, but, further efforts are needed to adopt rule of law and preserve the constitutional order of the country."

Kyiv applied for EU membership on Feb. 28, 2022, four days after the beginning of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Moldova and Georgia submitted their applications three days later.

The commission published opinions on the three applications in June of the same year, recommending that the council confirm all three countries' perspectives of becoming member states of the EU.

On Bosnia and Herzegovina, which applied for EU membership in February 2016, the commission had recommended it receive candidate statues in October 2022.