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THE IMPERFECT ACCESSION: ROMANIA
AND BULGARIA AS PRECEDENTS
FOR UKRAINE’S EARLY ENTRY
The accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU in 2007 was driven by geopolitical priorities that took precedence over a strictly merit-based process. In a similar vein, Ukraine and Moldova were granted candidate status in 2022 amidst the ongoing Russian aggression, a threat which made the euro-integration process less predictable. This situation highlights the…