Association Trio

Association Trio
Association Trio
	Members of the Associated Trio and the Eastern Partnership that are not members of the European Union European Union Members of the Eastern Partnership that are not members of the European Union or the Associated Trio
Membership	Georgia; Moldova; Ukraine;
Establishment	17 May 2021
Area
• Total	707,091 km2 (273,009 sq mi)
Population
• 2020 estimate	47,845,256 (excluding Transnistria, Crimea and Sevastopol)

Association Trio (Georgian: ასოცირებული ტრიო, asotsirebuli trio; Romanian: Trio Asociat; Ukrainian: Асоційоване Тріо, romanized: Asotsiiovane Trio) is a tripartite format for enhanced cooperation, coordination and dialogue between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, the three EU Associate Partners, and the European Union on issues of common interest related to the European integration of states, including cooperation in the framework of Eastern Partnership for the sake of joining the European Union.^[1]

The participants of the format express a clear position of the aspiration of the three European states of the "Associated Trio" for membership in the European Union and reaffirm their commitment to further progress in implementing the Association Agreements with the EU, which, however, is not the ultimate goal of their relations with the EU. In this context, they recall that under Article 49 TEU, European countries, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine have a European perspective and can apply for membership of the European Union, provided that all the necessary criteria for EU membership are met.

Coordinating their actions, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine seek to expand the possibilities of association agreements, promote sectoral convergence with the EU (integration into the Digital Single Market, energy and customs union, ENTSO-E, and, of course, with the Schengen Area; transport cooperation, green course, justice and home affairs, strategic communications, health, security and defense) and gradual integration into the European Single Market.