Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia received positive news on about their quests to join the European Union but countries in the volatile Balkans region that have waited years longer to become members of the world’s biggest trading bloc appeared to slip back in the queue.
In a series of reports, the EU’s executive branch recommended that war-ravaged Ukraine should be permitted to open membership talks, once it’s addressed some shortfalls.
The European Commission lauded Ukraine, which Russian troops invaded last year, saying that the government “has shown a remarkable level of institutional strength, determination and ability to function.” But it said that talks should only start once it has addressed corruption, lobbying concerns, and a law on national minorities.
Ukraine’s neighbor Moldova was delivered a similar message.
Georgia was told that it should officially be named as a candidate to join once it addresses shortcomings, including in the fight against corruption and election deficiencies. This does not mean that it will start accession talks soon. The country will have to clear more reform hurdles before that can happen.
The commission’s proposals, outlined in annual progress reports, mostly provide technical guidance to the 27 EU member states on how much progress countries have made in aligning their laws and standards with those of the bloc.
EU leaders are expected to decide whether to endorse those recommendations at a summit in Brussels on Dec. 14-15. There is no guarantee that they will agree unanimously to do so. Hungary and Slovakia are notably cool about Ukraine’s aspirations, for example.
For 20 years, the prospect of EU membership has been a powerful driver of pro-democratic reform in countries wanting to join. But those in the Balkans – Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo – have become discouraged by the bloc’s failure to live up to its lofty membership promises.
