MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the candidate status of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia

21.6.2022 - (2022/2716(RSP))

to wind up the debate on the statements by the Council and the Commission
pursuant to Rule 132(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Pedro Marques, Tonino Picula
on behalf of the S&D Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0331/2022

B9‑0335/2022

European Parliament resolution on the candidate status of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia

(2022/2716(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia,

– having regard to the Joint Statement of the Political Groups’ Leaders Addressed to the Heads of State and Government of the EU Meeting on 23-24 June 2022,

– having regard to the European Council conclusions of 30 May 2022 on Ukraine,

– having regard to the Versailles Declaration of 10-11 March 2022,

– having regard to the Council conclusions on enlargement and stabilisation and association process of 14 December 2021,

– having regard to the Commission’s opinions of 17 June 2022 on the EU membership applications of Ukraine (COM(2022)0407), the Republic of Moldova (COM(2022)0406) and Georgia (COM(2022)0405),

– having regard to Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union,

– having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas Ukraine submitted its application for EU membership on 28 February 2022;

B. whereas Georgia and the Republic of Moldova followed suit and submitted their applications for EU membership on 3 March 2022;

C. whereas the Council exceptionally swiftly requested that the Commission submit its opinions on the EU membership applications of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia;

D. whereas the Versailles Declaration of 10 and 11 March 2022 stated the European Council’s acknowledgment of the European aspirations and the European choice of Ukraine;

E. whereas on 17 June 2022 the Commission submitted its opinions and recommended granting EU candidate status to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, on the understanding that certain reform measures such as in the areas of rule of law and the fight against corruption are taken, as well as to Georgia once 12 important reform priorities have been addressed;

F. whereas the Russian Federation has been carrying out an illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine since 24 February 2022, conducting indiscriminate shelling of residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, and abductions, forced displacement and executions of Ukrainian civilians, including atrocities such as in Bucha or Mariupol, as well as other war crimes under investigation by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court;

G. whereas thousands of Ukrainian civilians have lost their lives or have been wounded since 24 February 2022, while more than seven million Ukrainian citizens have been internally displaced and more than five million have fled to neighbouring countries such as Moldova and to EU Member States, adding to the more than 14 000 people, both military personnel and civilians, who have lost their lives in the previous eight years as a result of the occupation and annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and the conflict it generated in eastern Ukraine;

H. whereas the Russian Federation also launched a war against Georgia in 2008, since which it exercises effective control over the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, illegally annexed Crimea and Sevastopol and certain de facto occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine in 2014, and maintains troops in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova;

I. whereas the EU and its Member States must demonstrate their solidarity with those who defend their right to live according to the same principles and values on which the European integration project and the EU were built;

J. whereas the EU accession process remains a merit-based process that requires fulfilment of the relevant EU membership criteria;

K. whereas through the Association Agreements and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas signed in 2014, the EU and its associated partners – Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia – committed to promote political association and achieve economic integration; whereas full implementation of the Association Agreements still remains to be achieved;

1. Welcomes the membership applications of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia as an expression of the European aspirations of the people and their wish to live peacefully and in safety in free, democratic and prosperous countries that maintain good neighbourly relations with all European countries and engage in ever-closer cooperation with EU Member States;

2. Reiterates its undivided solidarity with the people of Ukraine and their will and readiness to defend the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of their country in Russia’s brutal war of aggression, and acknowledges the legitimate European aspirations of the people of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia to transform their countries into democratic and prosperous European states willing to contribute to the project of European integration embodied by the EU;

3. Calls on the heads of state and government meeting on 23-24 June 2022 to decide without delay on the EU membership applications submitted by Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia in order to give clear and unmistakable political signals to their governments, parliaments and people;

4. Calls on the European Council to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine as a political signal of support and solidarity with the people of Ukraine who are defending their country’s independence, territorial integrity and right to choose its own alliances as well as their fundamental freedoms and human rights in a war of aggression waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and its people as much as against the European security order;

5. Calls on the European Council to equally swiftly decide on the EU membership applications of the Republic of Moldova and Georgia and to clearly determine the conditions for their EU membership;

6. Underlines that accession to the EU must take place in accordance with Article 49 TEU, based on respect for the relevant procedures and conditional upon the fulfilment of the established criteria, in particular the so-called Copenhagen criteria for EU membership, and remains a merit-based process that requires adoption and implementation of relevant reforms, notably in the areas of democracy, rule of law, human rights, market economy and implementation of the EU acquis;

7. Invites the authorities of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia to unambiguously demonstrate their political determination to implement the European ambitions of their people by significantly enhancing progress with substantial reforms in order to effectively fulfil the criteria for EU membership as soon as possible;

8. Calls on the Commission to launch a reflection on how to enhance the effectiveness of accession-related financial and technical assistance in line with the necessary reform priorities established in its opinions of 17 June 2022 and based on actual progress with the reforms;

9. Calls on the EU Member States to reach an understanding at the European Council meeting of 23-24 June 2022 on the new impetus to the EU’s enlargement policy in order to unlock its transformative power in favour of democracy, rule of law and social market economy and to honour the long-standing commitment for EU accession prospects given to the Western Balkans countries almost 20 years ago;

10. Invites the Commission to develop proposals on how to continue strengthening ties with, and especially among, the Eastern Partnership countries given the current context of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which also threatens the security of Ukraine’s neighbouring countries and affects stability in the region as a whole;

11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Presidents, Governments and Parliaments of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia.