Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi hoped, on Tuesday 14 February in a question-and-answer session in the European Parliament, that one of the Western Balkan countries would be ready to join the EU at the end of the Commission’s current mandate, i.e. at the end of 2024.
“We should see at least one country ready to join by the end of the mandate”, he stressed, saying that every effort should be made to ensure that this happened. “Since 2019, the issue is again a priority for European leaders”, the Commissioner recalled, adding that the Russian aggression in Ukraine had only added importance to the Western Balkans’ accession to the EU.
Under questioning by MEPs, the Commissioner gave an update on the situation in the various countries of the region. In particular, he announced that the vote - expected for several weeks - on the missing judges of the constitutional court in Montenegro should be held on 27 February. “I hope that this time it will unblock the situation, because this country needs to get back to work”, he said, hoping that it will also allow elections to be called in the spring.
Turning to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr Várhelyi welcomed the government’s coalition agreement, which sees the European perspective as a priority. “This is a good thing, but (politicians) must opt for our values and adopt our rules”, he warned. He said he had offered the government support for the reforms, with technical expertise and staff to advise them.
Furthermore, although Parliament, in a resolution voted on 18 January, asked the Commission to launch an investigation into Mr Várhelyi’s behaviour and actions regarding EU accession countries, no MEPs questioned him on the matter during this Q&A session. (see EUROPE 13102/5). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)