The European Parliament on Wednesday adopted a resolution on enlargement policy, calling on the European Council to grant Georgia EU candidate status at its meeting on December 14-15. The resolution also urges the Council to open accession negotiations with Ukraine, Moldova, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to the statement, the MEPs welcome the interest and political will from so many countries to join the EU and acknowledge the serious efforts being made to meet the requirements for membership. They welcome the willingness of the Government of Armenia to come closer to the European Union.

The EU should establish clear deadlines for the candidate countries to conclude EU accession negotiations by the end of this decade, MEPs stress.

There should be no fast-track for membership though, they say. MEPs insist that the Copenhagen criteria must be fulfilled to ensure that candidate and potential candidate countries demonstrate a consistent and enduring commitment to democracy, rule of law, human rights respect for and protection of minorities, and economic reforms.

The resolution emphasizes the need for internal EU reforms in parallel with the enlargement process, to enhance the European Union’s capacity to integrate new members effectively, including through the introduction of qualified majority voting that would also apply to foreign and security policy decisions and in areas relevant to the accession process.

The resolution was adopted by 468 votes in favour, 99 against, and 58 abstentions.