The French Presidency of the EU Council expressed optimism on Tuesday 21 June that an agreement could be reached on the opening of negotiations for Ukraine’s accession to the EU. Moldova could also be granted the status and Georgia could gain a European prospect.
“We had a discussion (among the ministers) which showed a broad consensus, I would even say a total consensus, on progress in these matters, particularly with regard to the possibility, for Ukraine, to recognise its candidate status as soon as possible”, stressed the French Minister for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, at the end of the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg. “We need unity, continued support for Ukraine, this strong, symbolic message, with the granting of this candidate status”, said an Elysée source.
On their arrival at the Council, several ministers, such as Thomas Byrne from Ireland, Andres Sutt from Estonia, Andreja Metelko-Zgombić from Croatia and Tytti Tuppurainen from Finland, publicly supported the granting of status to Ukraine and Moldova. “It is very important to give a political perspective”, stressed Mr Sutt, welcoming the Commission’s recommendations (see EUROPE 12974/1).
After France and Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Portugal, which seemed to be more cautious, have also given the green light (see EUROPE 12975/1). “We want to help Ukraine achieve its European dream and granting it status is a step and an encouragement to do so”, stressed Danish minister Jeppe Kofod. However, he recalled that many obligations would have to be fulfilled, citing the Copenhagen criteria, the rule of law and a functioning economy. On Tuesday, the Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, also confirmed his country’s support on Twitter.
Don’t let the Western Balkans in the corner
While all eyes are on Ukraine, several ministers highlighted the situation in the Western Balkans.
Mr Beaune felt that the opening up of new European prospects should not give “the feeling that we are forgetting those countries, particularly in the Balkans, which have already been involved in a demanding negotiation process, sometimes for a long time”.
“We must not forget the Western Balkan countries, which need to see much more progress in their own accession position”, Mr Byrne stressed. For his Finnish counterpart, “Europe must keep its promises”. “The enlargement policy must be based on merit”, she added.
According to an Elysée source, one of the objectives of the EU summit will be to see how to make the prospect of Western Balkan membership more tangible and rapid. The leaders will also discuss the idea of a European political community, which “aims in particular to address the geostrategic gap that can arise between the time a country applies for membership and the time of full membership”, they added. The European Council could also consider the possibility of involving countries in certain European policies prior to accession, for a gradual integration into the internal market.
The opening of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and, by extension, Albania is still blocked. While France has been holding talks with Sofia and Skopje for several weeks in the hope of reaching an agreement, the outcome is notably linked to the internal Bulgarian political situation, as the government will face a vote of no confidence in parliament on Wednesday.
Bosnia is still waiting to receive candidate status. This status is supported by the Croatian minister, Andreja Metelko-Zgombić, who also called for changes in the Bosnian electoral law before the autumn elections.
According to an Elysée source, EU leaders are expected to discuss whether to grant this status. In its opinion of May 2019 (see EUROPE 12266/3), the European Commission highlighted 14 priority areas for action in order to make progress in the accession process.
“This is something we are still considering”, the source said, adding that if status was not granted at the summit, an important element in deciding would be the smooth running of the elections and the rapid formation of a government. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)