The European Commission recommended starting negotiations on accession to the European Union with Ukraine and Moldova, as well as giving Georgia EU candidate status.
In addition, the European Commission announced plans to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union with Bosnia and Herzegovina when the country begins to fully meet the criteria for EU membership.
“Despite the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022 and a brutal war of aggression, Ukraine continues to move along the path of democratic reforms and the rule of law,” says the European Commission’s report on Ukraine.
“Our state should be in the European Union. Ukrainians deserve this both for their defense of European values, and for the fact that even during a full-scale war we keep our word, developing state institutions,” Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky commented on the recommendations of the European Commission.
In June 2022, Ukraine and Moldova received candidate status for the European Union; Georgia requested a similar status, but the European Commission refused, noting that, despite this decision, the country has a “European perspective.”
The European Union will make a decision on starting negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova at the summit in December. If negotiations begin, both countries will have to adapt national laws in accordance with EU rules, and then sign an accession treaty, which must be ratified by all member countries.