Following Ukraine’s application to join the EU (see EUROPE 12901/1), Georgia and Moldova announced on Thursday 3 March their willingness to become candidates for EU membership.
“In these dramatic conditions, these (European) aspirations are even more justified, because the EU stands for peace and security”, explained Moldovan President Maia Sandu, alongside EU High Representative Josep Borrell and Commissioner for Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi in Chisinau on 2 March.
On Thursday 3 March, Moldova publicly announced its application for EU membership. For Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu, “this is a day that future generations will look back on with pride, this is the moment when our country was irreversibly anchored in the European space”, he stressed. “Moldovan citizens are ready to work hard for a stable and prosperous future in the EU and the family of European states”, Sandu said. The day before, she had stressed “very clearly our European aspiration to be part of the European family”.
Mr Borrell believes that Moldova “strongly belongs” to the European family.
Earlier on Thursday, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili signed his country’s application to join the European Union. “This is a historic day for Georgia (...) The application for EU membership is another milestone on Georgia’s path to European integration. This is a step that turns a new page in our history and continues the effort of our ancestors, which aims at Georgia’s membership in a common European family”, explained the Prime Minister.
The European Affairs Ministers of the EU Member States, meeting in Arles (France) on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 March, will discuss these membership applications (see EUROPE 12902/7). According to an EU source, it is not a question of taking any decision, but of seeing the positions of each Member State.
It is up to the Member States to decide whether to proceed with a formal application to join the EU. They may unanimously request the European Commission to make an assessment of the application. On the basis of this assessment, the Council can agree to the granting of candidate status, always by unanimity. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)