Moldova's EU accession tied to Ukraine's, says EU lawmaker
Moldova will not join the European Union without Ukraine, EU lawmaker Alin Mituța said in an interview with Teleradio-Moldova. He also stressed that the accession process is very complicated, and in the case of Romania, it took 10 years.
The European official added that Moldova is strategically and geographically connected to Ukraine.
"If we look at the case of Romania or other countries, we see that it usually takes about 10 years. It took Romania 5 years to become a candidate country. Moldova has an advantage in that it was granted candidate status much faster than Romania. Moldova and Ukraine were given candidate status very quickly, within a few months, in an emergency situation. However, the accession process is very complicated. Each negotiation chapter must be negotiated word for word. Moldova will not join the EU without Ukraine," said the lawmaker.
Alin Mituța also stressed that the accession of Moldova, Ukraine, and the Western Balkan countries would cost the EU 260 billion euros per year.
He argues that there is no possibility for Moldova and Ukraine to join the EU in a very short time because such decisions must be taken with the agreement of all 27 member states, as it is a complicated process.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
