MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) exchanged views with the European Commission on Thursday 27 April on options for boosting the EU accession process of the Western Balkan candidate countries.
“We can no longer wait as we have done, saying ‘let’s negotiate and meet again in 15 years’. (...) We should try to move towards a gradual integration, through common projects, which would allow us to invent the new institutions we will have to equip ourselves with when we will be 35 or 36 [member states - ed.]”, said Bernard Guetta (Renew Europe, French).
These words were echoed by several other MEPs, including Tonino Picula (S&D, Croatian). He argues for a “sectoral inclusion” of candidate countries following the closure of certain negotiating chapter clusters and for more involvement in the EU’s work programmes. A report by Mr Picula calling for the enlargement process to be reviewed and made more coherent and transparent was adopted by the European Parliament on 23 November (see EUROPE 13069/5).
The Croatian MEP also stressed the need for funding for the candidate countries. “More money is needed for the candidate countries, the Member States receive 11 times more money than they do”, he said.
For others, such as Yórgos Kýrtsos (Renew Europe, Greece), the European Commission should consider moving away from the ‘package’ approach to ‘accession promotion’ of certain countries, given the different national contexts and uneven progress.
“It seems to me that if we are waiting for Serbian policy to evolve, we will have to wait 15 to 20 years”, he said, arguing that highlighting the reform work of other countries in the region could “send a message” to Belgrade.
For its part, the European Commission has indicated that it is not closing the door on any possibilities. “What about partial integration? We need to think about this very seriously. Many ideas are being floated, and I am open to all possibilities”, said Gert Jan Koopman, who heads the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)