European Union leaders will meet in Brussels during March 21 and 22 for a summit focused on support for Ukraine. The draft declaration suggests that Moldova will also be promised security support. However, at this summit, the subject of accession negotiations with the two countries are not on the front burner, Europa Liberă found out.

The main subject of the summit in Brussels remains support for Ukraine, as US aid to Kyiv remains blocked in Congress.

In the summit’s draft declaration, seen by Europa Liberă, EU leaders vow to continue providing all necessary support to Chisinau to face the challenges caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The measures are aimed at “strengthening the resilience, security and stability” of Moldova in the face of Russia’s “destabilizing actions”.

While EU enlargement remains on the summit’s agenda, it is not among the highlights. Diplomatic sources told Europa Liberă this is due to reluctance from Germany and France, who would like to avoid a decision on enlargement being made before the European Parliament elections in June.

Otherwise, a decision on the next enlargement steps to be taken in relation to Moldova and Ukraine is already on the table of the European leaders, after the European Commission on March 12 proposed to the EU member countries a framework for accession negotiations with the two counties.

The document describes how the negotiations will proceed with the two countries that form a tandem ever since they simultaneously received candidate status in June 2022. The European Commission’s proposal states that the two countries still have unfinished work in carrying out reforms, and in Moldova’s case the justice reform stands out.

The fact that the European Commission has finalized the framework for negotiations suggests that their start is close. But this framework is subject to unanimous approval by EU leaders, who also set the date for the start of negotiations.

Most likely, the subject of enlargement will be discussed in the summer, when two new summits are expected in late June, mainly intended to select the new members of the Commission and the European Council, diplomatic sources told Europa Liberă.