Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were among the first republics to form part of the European Union. Soviet Union who wanted to get away Moscow. They succeeded in fulfilling this aspiration by joining NATO in 1999 and the EU in the second decade of this century. As independent states, all countries that were part of the USSR in the 1990s faced many difficulties, especially in the economic and social field. However, gradually, the three Baltic republics managed to overcome the recession, modernize their economy Y approaching the west.
And in this 2022, three more ex-Soviet countries took a crucial step to follow in their footsteps. Ukraine and Moldova received official status candidate countries to be part of the union Georgia considered as a potential candidate country. Brussels asked them reformswith special emphasis on Tbilisi, which is not yet an official candidate in areas such as judicial independence, separationcorruption or transparency, and is confident that it can conclude negotiations by 2030.
Ukraine already looked to the European Union in 2013, the head of the moment, Viktor Yanukovych, was about to sign Free Affiliate Agreement with Brussels. He finally backed down, which ignited the spark that ignited the powder keg in Ukraine: Maidan protests took place and there was a lot of social unrest in different parts of the country. extreme right groups as industries more pro-Russian in the east country that occupies public buildings and refuses any approaching the west. This voltage is first donbas war between rebels, backed by Moscow and Kiev’s central government resulted in Russia’s invasion of the neighboring state in February..
The priority for this Eastern European country right now is, control of everything the territory recognized by the international community and maintaining a lasting peace within it borders. Due to the difficulties arising from the presence of Russian troops, it is almost impossible to implement any reforms today. However, at the beginning of the conflict, Kiev has already “started its operation”separationIt included creating an official list in November 2021 to prevent oligarchs from creating an official list. donations to political partiesAn initiative advocated by the Ukrainian president assured that he “wanted to build a state for 40 million populationnot just for the hundred people on the Forbes list”. Alex Kocharov that it is important to reduce the power of these magnates, as those mentioned in the said lists “will not look favorably on approaching the EU, as this will create new opportunities for rivals and an embassy from the European Union”.
Tbilisi also sought rapprochement with both the EU and NATO, with the help of former president Mihail Saakashvili, who is currently imprisoned at the turn of the millennium. After a short hiatus conflict with Russia in 2008, but still open to Georgians, Georgia preferred to look to Brussels, with 74% of Georgians in favour, according to data from the National Institute for Democracy. Despite having so much support, Brussels urged the country to further reform and gave it a 12-point plan it had to deal with to win the official nomination like Kiev and Chisinau. protect freedomsto reduce political polarization and strength oligarchs and develop Judicial Independence.
Without the control of the entire state
The last of the three countries on the way to become a member of the European Union was Chisinau, which is pro-European and hand in hand with the centre-right. Maia Sandu and his party RUST, Moldova will have to deal with some. big traps
Mihail Popsoi, spokesperson of the parliament and member of the government party, from the Prensa Ibérica group, called El Periódico de Catalunya, from the beginning “a tremendous Majority of Moldovan citizens In addition to the fact that we are in favor of joining the EU, “a important part most of them are European citizens who already have it. Romanian passport”. Specifically, according to data from Moldovan consulting firm Magenta, around 60% of citizens favor EU membership, while 31% oppose it.
One problem the three countries share in order to join the EU is that their governments do not control 100% of internationally recognized territory, as in the case of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in de facto independent Georgia; Crimea and parts of southern and eastern Ukraine; and Transnistria in Moldova itself. Independent analyst Cristian Vlaas argues that, in the case of Moldova, “separatism It harms European integrationpreventing its application, FTA and full implementation of the mechanisms human rights protection and Moldovan laws”.
Even though owning these rebel territories is an obstacle for their state, Popsoi unfair Therefore, refuse entry of these countries into the EU. “Cyprus is a full member of the EU and continues to have it to this day. Northern Cyprus conflict”remembers the Moldovan parliamentarian.