A few days after the declarations from French President Emmanuel Macron (see EUROPE 12948/3), the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, took up the idea of giving continental Europe “a political reality” through the creation of a “European geopolitical community”, on Wednesday 18 May, during a speech to the European Economic and Social Committee.
Stressing the urgency of moving forward on such a project in response to the shockwaves of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mr Michel said that such a community would aim to “promote peace, stability and security on our continent” by involving the countries of the Western Balkans and/or the Eastern Partnership. It would not replace the enlargement of the European Union to include third European countries. “Nor would it be a guarantee that those who participate will one day be members of the EU”, he stressed.
According to Mr Michel, it would be up to the heads of State or government of the participating countries to steer the scheme by meeting “at least twice a year”. Foreign policy would be a major focus of cooperation, but the emphasis would also be on association with socioeconomic programmes that do not require regulatory alignment (Erasmus, the Horizon Europe research programme, transport and energy infrastructure).
This issue will be on the agenda of the June European Council, in the margins of which a meeting with the leaders of the Western Balkans will take place (see other news). Mr Michel proposes “a conference, around the summer”, which will bring together the leaders of the EU and the partner countries concerned.
Enlargement. The President of the European Council also wants to give new impetus to the enlargement process, 19 years after the Western Balkan countries were granted a European perspective.
“There is an urgent need to take a step forward. And to generate a new impetus to encourage reforms... and to advance European integration”, he said, convinced of the need to “make the process faster, progressive and reversible”.
According to Mr Michel, during the accession process, a country meeting the necessary standards in a given sector would be able to participate actively in an advisory capacity in the work of the EU Council and would be progressively integrated into the EU Council’s actions in certain areas (internal market, telecommunications, energy). And when the country meets certain benchmarks, it would also benefit from access to European programmes and funding.
However, “going backwards would have a direct impact on the country’s level of integration” with the EU, Mr Michel said. For example, if a country backslides on the Rule of law, some of the benefits of integration could be taken away.
Bilateral disputes, “often motivated by minority issues” and which slow down the enlargement process, should be given “special and immediate attention”, he said. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)