European Parliament: Ukrainians, Moldovan, Georgians deserve to live in “free, democratic and prosperous countries”
The resolution stressed there was “no alternative” to enlargement, which it called “more than ever a geostrategic investment” in a “stable, strong and united” EU.Photo:europarl.europa.eu.
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Ukrainians, Moldovans and Georgians deserve to live in “free, democratic and prosperous” countries that are “proud and committed members” of the European family, a resolution approved by the European Parliament said on Thursday.
With 529 votes in favour to 45 against and 14 abstentions, the resolution called on the heads of European states - set to hold a summit on Thursday and Friday - to grant European Union membership candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova “without delay”, and do the same for Georgia once the Government delivers on the priorities indicated by the European Commission.
The resolution urged the European Council to take an important “first step” towards fulfilling the legitimate aspirations of the citizens of these three countries by approving the recommendations issued by the European Commission last week.
In the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the move would be equal to “showing leadership, resolve and vision”, MEPs who initiated the resolution said, while insisting there was no “fast-track” path for EU membership and that accession remained a merit-based and structured process, which required membership criteria to be fulfilled and was dependent on the effective implementation of reforms.
The European Parliament also invited the authorities of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia to “unambiguously demonstrate their political determination to implement the European ambitions of their people”, accelerating reforms in order to effectively fulfil the criteria for EU membership as soon as possible.
The resolution stressed there was “no alternative” to enlargement, which it called “more than ever a geostrategic investment” in a “stable, strong and united” EU.
Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia applied for EU membership in the wake of the Russian attack against the former in late February. On June 17, the Commission published opinions on the three applications, recommending that the Council grant Ukraine and Moldova the candidate status and grant Georgia “European perspective” with a set of criteria before the candidate status for the country is considered.
Vakhtang Makharoblishvili, the head of the Georgian mission to the European Union, on Wednesday said the European Commission’s granting of “European perspective” to Georgia was “one of the most significant” achievements of the country’s foreign policy.
Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, said the body would recognise the “European perspective” of the Associated Trio countries of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia on Thursday.
The Helsinki Commission, a United States Government agency monitoring security in Europe, on Wednesday urged the European Council to grant Georgia the European Union membership candidate status.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday said if the European Commission had adopted a “merit-based approach” in its decision on Georgia’s membership bid, the country would have been “the first” to receive the candidate status for European Union membership.
Lorinc Nacsa, a member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Hungary, said on Wednesday Hungary would support granting Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina the European Union membership candidate status alongside Ukraine and Moldova.
Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, on Thursday said the body had granted the European Union membership candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova, and was ready to grant the same status to Georgia once the outstanding priorities outlined by the European Commission were addressed by the Georgian Government.
Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, as well as the Western Balkans countries, are members of the European family, António Costa, the prime minister of Portugal said on Saturday at the international congress of the Party of European Socialists in Berlin, in which the Georgian delegation is participating.
The European Council on Monday published Conclusions on European Union priorities for cooperation with the Council of Europe 2023-2024, with the document noting the future of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine and their citizens "lies within the EU”.