EU statement on enlargement: we are ready

Oliver Varhelyi, a member of the European Union (EU) Commission responsible for enlargement, said that as a Commission, they are ready to put forward proposals on the enlargement plan and that they will present their proposals at the EU Leaders Summit on 26 December. October 27th.

Varhelyi responded to a question about EU Commission President Charles Michel’s statements that “the EU should be ready for enlargement by 2030”, specifically targeting the Western Balkans, ahead of the informal meeting of ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU countries in Toledo, Spain.

Varhelyi affirmed that these words are a message from the Council made up of the leaders of the EU countries, saying: “The EU Commission is always ready to make any proposal that leads us here.” saying. When asked if he considered the 2030 date to be correct, Varhelyi continued:

“I think that it is not a question of history, it is a question of will and realization. It is both the compliance of the EU and the compliance of our partners in the Balkans and the other three candidate countries. The EU Commission is ready to make any proposal to get this far (enlargement). You will see this in October. You will see them when we come up with serious proposals, including a plan for growth. These are not only institutional but will speed up the real integration of peoples and economies in the EU”.

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Asked which countries might join the EU first, Varhelyi said: “I think those who qualify are closer. Therefore, I advise these countries to speed up their work. Everything will be on the table in October.” he said.

The question of enlargement, which the EU has put aside for many years, came to the fore again after the war in Ukraine. The leaders of the EU countries will discuss the issue of enlargement at the summit to be held in Brussels on 26 and 27 October.

Enlargement was once again high on the agenda in Brussels, after the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, on 28th August specifically referred to the Western Balkans and said that the 27-member EU should prepare for enlargement by 2030.

The EU presented an enlargement perspective to the Western Balkans in 2003 and there has been no progress in this direction for 20 years. Following the Russian attack, Ukraine and its neighboring country Moldova were also given “candidate country” status in June 2022.

The last wave of enlargement of the group of European countries, founded by Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg in 1951 as the European Coal and Steel Community, became the European Economic Community in 1957 and later the European Community . Union in years of accession, was 10 years in 2004. with the participation of the country.

In the biggest wave of enlargements in the history of the EU, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the Union. In 2007, the number of EU members increased to 27 with the accession of Bulgaria and Romania. With the accession of Croatia in 2013, the number of EU members reached 28. With the departure of the United Kingdom in 2020, the number dropped to 27.

Currently, the candidate countries for the EU are Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia from the Western Balkans, as well as Turkey since 1999 and Ukraine and Moldova since 2022. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Kosovo are potential candidate countries. (AA)