There are still desperately fragile countries in the region, such as Ukraine and Moldova, but, on the whole, those countries which do not already have an autocrat in charge have become much less likely to elect or accept one.
"We have stressed we believe that Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, and Ukraine, and Moldova at some later date, each have their place in the EU structures, " President Aleksander Kwasniewski told Polish journalists.
Beyond this, I continue to address difficult situations such as in Chechnya, the Balkans, southern Caucasus, Moldova and Ukraine.
The best they can hope for is to insist that the EU also do something more for countries such as Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.
He says he must take harsh measures not just to impress visiting Eurocrats but to prevent Romania from sliding into the third world like its eastern neighbours, Moldova and Ukraine.
But England rewarded fans who made the 15-hour journey from the U.K. The Three Lions rebounded from a lackluster 1-1 draw with Ireland in a friendly at Wembley on Wednesday that raised questions about Roy Hodgson's strategy ahead of key World Cup qualifying matches against Moldova and Ukraine in September.
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When Romania banned inter-country adoption, agencies moved to lightly regulated Moldova and then Ukraine.
If it were to appear on an official map, it would look like a sardine sandwiched between Ukraine in the east and Moldova to the west.
The majority came from the poorest parts of Europe - Moldova, Romania and Ukraine - but the main supply route is through Serbia.
Together with Georgia, Azerbaijan, Moldova and now Uzbekistan, Ukraine has been trying to pool some of its economic and political interests.
Over 50 youth organisations from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Uzbekistan joint the project.
What does flood through the province is a river of young women from Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine, lured by offers of fictitious jobs in Western Europe and then sold into sex-slavery.
Chairpersons and responsible representatives of IHP National Committees from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan attended the meeting together with the representatives of the UNESCO IHP Secretariat and the CIS Executive Committee, scientists from the State Hydrological Institute, State Oceanographic Institute, Arctic and Antarctic Institute, Russian State Hydrometeorological University and Institute of Water Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Its reluctance to talk of membership for Ukraine looks short-sighted: when Ukraine joins the queue, geography will dictate giving a place to Moldova too.
Group rivals Poland and Ukraine, who co-hosted the 2012 European Championship, also won, beating San Marino and Moldova respectively, to close the gap on the Group H leaders.
In mainly Romanian-speaking Moldova, Russia maintains a big military base in a separatist enclave called Transdniestria, which abuts Ukraine and is largely populated by Slavs.
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