Statement of the EU Awareness Centre on the Opening of EU Accession Negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova

The EU Awareness Centre warmly congratulates Ukraine and Moldova on the opening of the first cluster of accession negotiations with the European Union. This is the most significant step on both countries’ European paths since they were granted candidate status in 2023 — a hard-won recognition of their reforms, resilience, and courage, achieved even as Ukraine defends itself against Russia’s war of aggression and Moldova withstands sustained hybrid pressure. We commend the steadfast pro-European leadership of both nations and the unity of the European Union, in making this day possible. Our hope is that the remaining clusters will open swiftly and that membership will follow as soon as merit and reform allow.

It is impossible, however, to mark this day without reflecting on the country that once stood alongside Ukraine and Moldova on the European path. Today, Georgia is absent from this celebration not because its people have turned away from Europe, but because its government abandoned Georgia’s European future. Georgia’s European aspiration is enshrined in its Constitution and supported by the overwhelming majority of its citizens. The EU Awareness Centre, therefore, reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the people of Georgia, who continue to show that their place is in Europe. We express our firm hope that Georgia will soon return to its European path and rejoin its partners in the Association Trio.

Today belongs to Ukraine and Moldova, and we celebrate it with them — while our look remains fixed on the day when all three members of the Trio advance together toward the Union their peoples have so clearly chosen.