BRUSSELS, August 15. /TASS/. The European Union is considering ways to speed up Moldova's accession to the community, placing it ahead of Ukraine in the EU membership pecking order, Politico reported, citing sources.
"Brussels is considering granting Moldova a big step forward in its bid to join the EU ahead of parliamentary elections in the country in late September putting it ahead of Ukraine for the first time. Under the scenario, European countries would vote to open a first 'negotiating cluster' for Moldova — a key legal step on the path to membership," Politico writes. Such assistance from Brussels would allow Chisinau to make serious progress on this path, securing the approval of all 27 member states for the start of negotiations, but risks irritating Kiev. "A way needs to be found to open the first cluster," said Siegfried Muresan, a conservative EU lawmaker who chairs the EU-Moldova Association Committee in the European Parliament.
However, Brussels fears that this appearance of preferential treatment for Moldova and the "wait-and-see" attitude toward Ukraine could enrage Kiev, whose EU membership application has been moving forward alongside Moldova’s since both countries received the green light from the EU in 2023, the publication said. The problem is that Ukraine's application, as Politico recalls, is being blocked by Budapest. Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that his government had already decided on its position after the referendum and would now block any steps to admit Ukraine to the EU.
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Montenegro are now official candidates for EU membership. Brussels is putting pressure on Serbia to agree to grant this status to unrecognized Kosovo, which is effectively equivalent to officially recognizing the region's independence.