Ukraine and Moldova's accession to EU: Latvian Saeima supports start of negotiations
Latvian Saeima supports start of negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on EU accession (Photo: Getty Images)
On Thursday, November 23, the Latvian Seima unanimously adopted a statement supporting the start of negotiations for Ukraine and Moldova's accession to the European Union, according to the press service of the Latvian Seimas.
As noted in the Seimas, Latvia reminds European Union partners of the importance of strengthening support for societies that uphold freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights.
"Despite Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing hybrid war in Moldova, these countries have made tremendous efforts to come even closer to the European Union, both in terms of values and governance. The Seimas statement will significantly strengthen this signal to other member states," said the Seimas Committee on European Affairs Chairman Edmunds Chepuritis.
In the statement, lawmakers call on other member countries to support the recommendations of the European Commission and approve the start of accession negotiations by the end of this year. Parliamentarians also urge the European Commission and the EU Council to urgently prepare and support the negotiation frameworks with Ukraine and Moldova.
The statement also contains a call for the two candidate countries to continue implementing necessary reforms that align with the shared values of the European Union, promote closer integration into the EU, and contribute to more excellent stability, security, and prosperity in the region.
The Seimas statement confirms that Latvia is ready to support Ukraine and Moldova in implementing reforms to full EU membership.
Negotiations on Ukraine's EU accession
Last week, the European Commission released a report on the progress of Ukraine and other candidate countries on the path to EU accession.
In particular, the Commission recommended starting accession negotiations with Ukraine, but with the condition of implementing the reforms specified in the report.
For negotiations to begin, all EU member state leaders must support such a decision. They will discuss this issue at the summit scheduled for December 14.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy considers the decision to start negotiations with Ukraine regarding EU accession to be motivational.
