While aware of the growing pressure from outside players on the candidate countries to join the EU, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, explained, on Friday 13 February from Estonia, that in order to have a successful enlargement process, there could be “no shortcuts” on the implementation of reforms.
“The fight against corruption and the building of democratic institutions remain the foundations of enlargement. Full membership cannot be achieved at the expense of these fundamental reforms”, she warned.
Ms Kos pointed out that only a credible reform process could build trust with the Member States and ensure the proper functioning of the internal market and the Union.
Warning against the risk of having “Trojan horses” in the EU, the Commissioner called for insurance against any backsliding on democracy. “One of the lessons learned (from the 2004 enlargement process) is the need to put in place guarantees to ensure that the new members respect the rules and that the integrity of our Union is preserved, even 5, 10 or 20 years from now”, she explained.
According to Ms Kos, future accession treaties will have to contain strengthened safeguards against any backtracking on commitments made during the accession negotiations “in order to ensure that the new Member States continue to respect their commitments with regard to fundamental principles”.
The Commissioner also explained that countries implementing reforms and aligning with EU rules should be rewarded with faster integration into European policies and structures. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)