Baltic states' presidents encourage holding accession talks with Ukraine as they mark 20th anniversary of their EU membership

In a joint statement on the 20th anniversary of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia's membership in the EU, the presidents of the three Baltic states have called for intergovernmental conferences to be held with Ukraine and Moldova, and for accession negotiations to begin in June 2024.

Karis, Nausėda and Rinkēvičs stressed that they are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia's accession to the European Union at a time when Russia's unprovoked and unjustified aggressive war against Ukraine serves as a reminder that peace in Europe cannot be taken for granted.

"We emphasise that international support remains crucial for Ukraine's victory. Ukraine is defending our democratic values today. We strongly support Ukraine in defending the rules-based world order," the presidents said.

They added that the Baltic states fought for a democratic choice in 1990-1991.

"Today, Ukrainians, Moldovans and Georgians are fighting for European values and the European family as their decisive choice. They have the same dream as we did back then... We strongly support those countries that share European values and the desire to be together," the statement reads.

The presidents vowed to support the candidate countries on their path to European integration and full membership in the European Union.

"We encourage the holding of intergovernmental conferences with Ukraine and Moldova and the start of accession negotiations in June 2024. The enlargement of the European Union has been a strategic political investment for the European Union with inexhaustible potential," the three Baltic presidents stressed.

On 1 May 2004, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the EU.

At the time of the accession of the 10 states, only 15 countries were members of the EU, so this expansion is called the "Big Bang".

On Tuesday, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of EU membership, 10 EU states raised the flags of these countries near the European Commission headquarters.

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that her country's accession to the EU 20 years ago allowed it to help Ukraine today.

In his address on the 20th anniversary of Poland's accession to the EU, Polish President Andrzej Duda highlighted the positive aspects of membership but also made critical remarks on the eve of the European elections.