Ukraine and Moldova have discussed their expectations and plans for the next stage of the EU accession negotiation process, UkrInform reports.
Two years have passed since Ukraine applied for EU accession in February 2022, on the fifth day of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
On 25 June 2024, all 27 members of the Council of the EU unanimously approved the framework for accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova to join the EU. Currently, Kyiv is aligning its legislation and making reforms to become a full member of the bloc, which is a matter of time and effort, including the work on signing the final accession agreement between both sides.
The discussion took place during consultations between Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Olga Stefanishyna, and the Moldovan delegation led by Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Cristina Gherasimov, who arrived on a working visit to Kyiv.
“The parties discussed the format and approaches to preparing bilateral meetings within the framework of screening and shared their own experiences regarding the development of the negotiation process architecture and the adoption of legislation. In particular, they paid special attention to the process of forming and working negotiation groups, involving representatives of civil society, business, and parliamentarians in the process,” the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office said.
Another topic of the discussion was the exchange of experiences and the development of cooperation with other countries in the EU enlargement package – the Western Balkan states.
Earlier, EU High Representative Josep Borrell said that Ukraine’s speed of moving towards EU membership and other countries’ desire to make it a member are very different from those of other candidates for accession.
Borrell noted that the EU enlargement process was not very dynamic in the past, but Ukraine and its political and military circumstances have created a new trend.
“I have never seen the process move as quickly as in Ukraine. Never. There is a big difference from anyone else. The intergovernmental conference has already launched the negotiation process. If you compare the pace of what is happening in Ukraine with other cases, we are moving at the speed of light,” emphasized the EU High Representative.
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