The European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, appeared before the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) on Monday 20 April to outline the state of progress of the EU enlargement process, in light of recent events in several candidate countries, notably Serbia and Ukraine.
Release of funds for Serbia. A number of leaks to the press had suggested that Belgrade might be denied access to European funds unless the country made more serious progress on rule of law reforms.
Shaken by demonstrations against the government in power and heavily criticised for its proximity to Russia (see EUROPE 13771/23), Serbia is under fire from European critics for the authoritarian drift of its government, which nonetheless continues to demonstrate its desire to join the Union (see EUROPE 13775/11).
However, Marta Kos did not make any explosive announcements about the funds. “We are increasingly concerned about what is happening in Serbia”, she said. “We are currently evaluating whether the country still meets the conditions to receive EU funding”.
The Commissioner recalled that the forthcoming elections in the country were going to be crucial. “We expect Serbia to guarantee freedom of expression and of the media and to ensure free and fair elections. And we hope that it will implement all the related reforms”, she insisted.
“This is a step in the right direction – and precisely what the European Democratic Party has been calling for. Holding free and fair elections is the key issue. The manipulation and violence that marred the recent elections are incompatible with membership of the European Union. European funds must remain frozen until Serbia takes the necessary measures”, said Sandro Gozi (Renew Europe, French).
With regard to the other candidate countries, the Commissioner recalled the good progress made by Albania and Montenegro, which should be the first candidate country to see its accession treaty begin to be drafted by the EU27.
“We obviously don’t want a Trojan horse within the Union, a country that goes against our principles”, Marta Kos reiterated. This is why the Accession Treaty with Montenegro will be the first to include the new “guarantees” designed to ensure compliance with the rules by the new members and the integrity of the Union (see EUROPE 13808/14).
The Ukraine and Moldova process is on the right track. The European Commissioner also expressed optimism that the various clusters of chapters in the accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova would soon be opened, following the defeat of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who had been blocking the process until now.
“We are now optimistic that, with the support of the new Hungarian government, the Council will soon be in a position to formally open all the negotiating groups”, she said, referring to Ukraine and applying the same principle to Moldova.
Marta Kos welcomed the progress made by both countries in their reform programmes, despite the difficulties they face – Russian aggression in the case of the former, and Russian pressure and the repercussions of Russian aggression in the case of the latter.
In particular, she cited the adoption of several laws by the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, a few days ago, which she said would enable an additional €2.7 billion in budgetary aid to be released under the mechanism for Ukraine.
She also pointed out that the two countries were leaders among the enlargement countries in implementing reforms as part of their growth plans: 87% for Ukraine and 93% for Moldova.
€90 billion loan. The Commissioner said she hoped that as soon as the Druzhba pipeline was operational – which could happen in the next few days – the EU would be in a position to grant Ukraine the long-awaited €90 billion loan. Amending the regulation on the Multiannual Financial Framework, the last piece of legislation needed to release the loan, is expected to be on the agenda of the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU on Wednesday, with Hungary hinting that it may lift its veto. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Isalia Stieffatre)