President Iohannis announces approval of enlargement chapter and offers encouragement

President Klaus Iohannis brought optimistic news today, announcing that the European Council has formally approved the enlargement chapter, paving the way for negotiations on the accession of Moldova and Ukraine to the European Union.

"I can tell you that a few minutes ago the enlargement chapter was formally approved, meaning that the European Council decided to open negotiations for Ukraine and Moldova, as proposed by the Commission. It was decided to grant candidate status to Georgia and including Bosnia and Herzegovina we have a fairly positive text, probably a positive decision will follow in the spring. This is a historic result. It is a very important step for Moldova, Ukraine and for Georgia. I am very optimistic that things will go well going forward. Both Moldova and Ukraine have worked very hard. They have managed in record time to achieve remarkable progress and this progress has been seen and honoured by the Council today", said Klaus Iohannis. 

President Iohannis congratulated Moldova and Ukraine and wished them every success in the next stages of the accession negotiations.

"We support you, be brave, make reforms and together we will move forward," the Romanian leader added.

Negotiations in the Council were complex and lasted several hours, but this positive outcome is an encouragement to persevere and continue the reforms. Discussions are expected to continue this evening and tomorrow, with final conclusions to be presented soon.