Recently, the European Commission put forward proposals for draft negotiating frameworks for Ukraine and Moldova to the Council of the European Union, according to EU NEIGHBOURS east, following the decision by the European Council in December 2023 to open negotiations with both countries, IPN reports.
In a press release, the European Commission says that it will give an oral report to the Council on the progress made by both countries to address the recommendation made in the Commission’s Enlargement report of 8 November.
“Fighting for its existence for more than two years, Ukraine has demonstrated remarkable resilience and commitment and has made substantial progress on its EU path. Despite facing hybrid attacks by Russia, Moldova has made further progress in its EU accession reforms and has shown impressive resilience. The presentation of the draft negotiating frameworks for Ukraine and Moldova is a step forward in the process,” said EU High Representative Josep Borrell.
The negotiating frameworks establish the guidelines and principles for the accession negotiations with each candidate country. The draft frameworks prepared by the European Commission are divided into three parts: 1) principles governing the accession negotiations, 2) substance of the negotiations, and 3) negotiations procedure. The objective of the negotiations is that Ukraine and Moldova adopt the EU acquis in its entirety and ensure its full implementation and enforcement.
It is now for the Council to begin their internal deliberations on these texts. Once the Council has adopted the negotiating frameworks, the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union will present the agreed-upon EU Common Position at the first intergovernmental conference with each country, marking the formal start of the accession negotiations. The negotiating frameworks will be made public at this stage, noted Brussels.
For its part, Radio France International anticipates that EU countries will have to agree unanimously to close each negotiation chapter. There are 31 chapters and they are divided into 6 thematic groups.
The negotiating framework explicitly states that the pace of the two accession negotiations will depend on their progress in this area and will be taken into account in decisions on opening and closing negotiation chapters.
“In other words, the document says, issues related to the rule of law, respect for minority rights and the fight against corruption can block negotiations, e.g. in chapters on regional policy, company law, freedom of movement or education and culture.”
This area will be the only one open and monitored throughout the negotiations. The permanent surveillance system is intended to provide “sufficient time to establish the necessary legislation, institutions and a solid track record of implementation before the conclusion of negotiations”.
There is also a special procedure modeled after the procedure of art. 7. from the EU Treaties, from which Poland and Hungary have already “benefited”.
In the event of a “serious and persistent breach of the values on which the Union is founded”, the Commission can recommend the suspension of accession negotiations.
In addition, the EC can impose sanctions in the form of delaying the negotiations (for example, withdrawing the recommendation to close a certain chapter) in case of “severe or long-term stagnation or regression in the implementation of rule of law reforms” or “in a situation in that progress within the “Fundamentals” group lags significantly behind progress in other areas.
This type of formulation was also found in the Commission's documents in 2002 or 2003, regarding Romania, which finally closed the negotiations with the EU only in 2005.
Another type of sanctions can even be the deprivation of EU financial support. “The scope and intensity of financial assistance may also be reduced, with the exception of civil society support,” the document states.
The rest of the rules for accession negotiations are very similar to those applied to previous countries that applied to join the EU, said the quoted source.
