In contrast to last year, the EU Member States’ European Affairs Ministers succeeded, on Tuesday 14 December, in agreeing on the messages to be sent to the candidate and potential candidate countries for EU membership: Montenegro (see other news), Serbia (see other news), Turkey, North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo.
Earlier in the day, the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council had presented a new draft text, which was the subject of several objections, before succeeding, at the last minute, in obtaining a consensus on a 29-page text. One European source called the agreement a “miracle”.
In the conclusions, the EU Council reaffirms its commitment to the enlargement policy, “which remains a key EU policy” and the “unequivocal support of the EU for the European perspective of the Western Balkans”.
As expected, the ministers did not agree to formally open accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. Welcoming the “continued determination” of both countries to advance their EU reform agendas, the EU Council merely states that it “looks forward to the holding of the first intergovernmental conferences with the Republic of North Macedonia and with Albania as soon as possible, after the approval of the negotiating frameworks by the Council”.
However, the Slovenian State Secretary, Gašper Dovžan, said he was optimistic that approval would come soon, with the formation of a new government in Bulgaria. “We believe that it will be possible to continue on the path we have set out as soon as possible”, he told the media.
Furthermore, despite the difficulties in bilateral relations and the “stalled” accession negotiations, the EU Council recalls that Turkey remains a candidate country and a key partner in many areas of joint interest.
In general, the EU Council stresses the urgency for candidate and potential candidate countries to focus on fundamental reforms to address a number of “persistent structural shortcomings” in the areas of Rule of law, fundamental rights, democratic institution building and public administration reform, and economic criteria. “Solid and sustained progress in the implementation of reforms and concrete and tangible results in these crucial areas remain essential, not least in determining the overall pace of the accession negotiations”, the EU Council recalls.
See the conclusions, which also look at the situation in each country: https://bit.ly/3F2yzy4 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)