While there no longer seems to be any debate about the need to enlarge the European Union, the best way of doing so in order to guarantee the integrity of the EU and its functioning remained one of the predominant questions at the heart of the High-Level Forum organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in Brussels on Thursday 24 October.
More than 140 civil society representatives from the enlargement candidate countries attended the event to discuss the key role of civil society and the social partners in the integration process.
This forum was supported by the EESC’s ECM (Enlargement Candidate Members) initiative, designed to enable civil society in the candidate countries to contribute to the work of the EESC and, by extension, to discussions on enlargement.
Citizens from the six countries of the Western Balkans - Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and North Macedonia - as well as from Ukraine were present to note the progress made by the countries in terms of integration and the road still to be travelled.
The need for gradual integration. One of the key perspectives of the debate was to underline the importance of gradual, “merit-based” integration, where progress is recognised and rewarded with real prospects of membership, in order to avoid a repeat of a decade of stalled negotiations.
This “momentum” as the Albanian Deputy Minister for the Economy, Culture and Innovation, Olta Manjani, called it, must be capitalised on by the EU if it is to achieve its enlargement objectives.
“We are at the height of a general feeling in favour of the EU, particularly in Albania, which is one of the most pro-European countries on the continent”, she pointed out. “The EU must take this willingness into account in order to make progress on reforms and the accession of member countries”.
Several processes should be, if not finalised, at least initiated by the Commission between now and 2029. Albania’s objective of integration by 2030 remains unchanged, as Prime Minister Edi Rama reiterated on Wednesday 23 October at a press conference with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen (see EUROPE 13510/17).
Montenegro’s ambition is to join the European Union “by 2028”, according to Naida Nišić, Montenegro’s Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue.
For the Western Balkans, this gradual integration is taking shape through several Commission initiatives, particularly the ‘Growth Plan’ and the reform agendas of the candidate countries (see EUROPE 13510/19).
EESC President Oliver Röpke stressed this point during the debate: “This is not just about expanding the EU – it’s about preparing future Member States to actively participate in shaping the Union, ensuring that they are fully equipped to meet the challenges ahead. Through collaboration with civil society, employers’ federations and trade unions, we are creating the necessary foundation for a more inclusive and stronger Europe”.
German Secretary of State Rolf Schmachtenberg also stressed the importance of “aligning” the “social and economic” aspects of the candidate countries to ensure a “successful EU accession”.
Towards a Europe of 33? If six new countries were to join the Union, reform of the internal treaties is considered by some, particularly in the European Parliament, to be a sine qua non for the future smooth running of the EU, in particular by making more frequent use of qualified majority voting.
At this stage, the political will does not yet seem to be there. Olta Manjani deplored this situation and stressed that it is “now or never” that the necessary reforms must be undertaken. “A concrete reaction from the EU would strengthen its place and importance on the international stage, through the certainty of enlargement”, she said.
“We need to do some concrete work on our own, on our reforms”, admitted Oliver Röpke at a conference the previous day. “However, I do not agree with using this argument to oppose or stop enlargement itself - it is not factually a reason”, he said.
For her part, the President of the Commission is still visiting the Western Balkans. After visiting Tirana on Wednesday, she held talks with the heads of state and government of North Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday and Friday, before travelling to Serbia on Saturday 26 and Kosovo and Montenegro on 27. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)