The United States welcomed and called the EU summit's decision to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova and candidate status for Georgia historic.
The US welcomed the European Council's decision on EU enlargement
In Washington, the summit decision t was a "historic moment" for Europe and the transatlantic partnership.
The decision to start EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, to grant EU candidate status to Georgia, and to start accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina as soon as it fulfills the necessary criteria, give hope and incentive to these countries and their peoples to continue reforms. necessary to advance their EU membership ambitions. This is a historic moment for Europe and for the transatlantic partnership, the statement said.
The State Department also said that the United States strongly supports the EU enlargement process and looks forward to helping candidate countries and potential candidates for EU accession as they continue essential reforms to EU membership.
At this crucial moment for the transatlantic community, we call on them to seize the momentum to realize their full democratic and economic potential and secure their future in Europe," the statement said.
What is known about Ukraine's accession to the EU
At the summit in Brussels on June 23, the European Council granted Ukraine the status of a candidate for the EU. Kyiv must implement several vital reforms related, in particular, to the rule of law, oligarchs and corruption.
On September 26, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that at the governmental level, seven recommendations of the European Commission regarding reforms, which must be carried out for the next step to joining the EU, have been fully implemented.
On November 7, Radio Svoboda, referring to the EC report on Ukraine, informed that the European Commission considers four out of seven recommendations to be fully completed.
On November 8, the European Commission recommended that the Council of the European Union start the negotiations on Ukraine and Moldova's accession to the European Union. The negotiation framework will be adopted in March 2024.
Subsequently, the European Commission published a full review of the conclusions included in the 2023 annual report on the expansion of Ukraine's application for membership in the European Union in the context of the EU.
At the summit of EU leaders in Brussels on December 14, a decision was made to start negotiations with Ukraine on EU membership.
