by David McAllister MEP, Chairman of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Brussels/Strasbourg
The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has marked a fundamental shift in the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the European Union (EU). It has put Europe’s peace and security architecture to the toughest test since the end of the second world war.
Geopolitical power politics has come back with a vengeance. One of its most strategically significant but least recognised consequences is the renaissance of EU enlargement policy. The new European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, has pledged to use this renewed momentum, and build on the political guidelines of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the European Council’s Strategic Agenda 2024-2029. A new chapter of enlargement policy is beginning and being accelerated in the wake of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine – and rightly so. In 2019, the EU had seven enlargement partners, now we have ten. We had five candidate countries, now we have nine. In 2019, three countries were negotiating their accession to the EU, now this number is up to seven and might extend to eight, after the European Council’s decision earlier this year to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Avoiding grey areas
Grey areas in our neighbourhood are danger zones. They give Putin room to expand on his imperial fantasies by ploughing a trench through Europe. We must not allow Russia nor China to exploit the vacuum that the EU has admittedly created – at least partially – by not delivering on the many promises made to the countries of the Western Balkans twenty years ago in Thessaloniki.
Moscow and Beijing are deliberately exploiting the frustration and enlargement fatigue in accession countries by propagating false narratives and creating critical dependencies to enhance their expansionist interests. This not only destabilises our neighbourhood, but the European Union itself. There can no longer be any doubt that EU enlargement is a geopolitical imperative.
EU enlargement is a success story
EU enlargement has been and continues to be our most tangible “instrument” to pursue a Europe that is united and at peace. It is one of our greatest success stories. The history of European integration has always been one of enlargement.
Over the years, seven rounds – in 1973, 1981, 1986, 1995, 2004, 2007 and 2013 – have helped us promote stability, cooperation, and prosperity on the continent, while safeguarding our common values of freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. Enlargement is an investment in peace, security and prosperity on our continent. Importantly, it deepens the EU by bringing us closer together not only in terms of shared values, but economically, through the single market, and culturally, through the free movement of people.
Nevertheless, we are currently witnessing the second longest period without a new country joining the European Union. This was preceded only by the period between the foundation in 1957 and the first round of enlargement in 1973.
Integrating candidates gradually
Precisely because enlargement brings tangible benefits to our citizens, the European Parliament supports attempts to gradually integrate the candidate countries into the EU. People in potential accession countries must not be left with an “all or nothing” perception of the EU. Rather, we should enable people in potential future Member States to witness the tangible benefits of the EU at an early stage. Therefore, the aim of the incoming European Commission is to advance a country’s political association and economic integration as far as possible before its formal accession. The recently established Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans, the Ukraine Facility and the Reform and Growth Facility for Moldova serve this purpose.
EU enlargement is a shared responsibility of the current and the aspiring Member States. The current geopolitical situation cannot be understood as a free pass to EU membership with disregard for the accession criteria. Enlargement must always stay merit based. The Copenhagen criteria, and most importantly, the fundamentals of rule of law and democracy must be upheld at all times. Preserving the integrity of our enlargement process is key. The EU will only persist as a functional entity if we do not compromise on the substance of our community: our values.
The positive developments in Ukraine, Moldova and most of the Western Balkan countries towards meeting the accession criteria in recent years should be acknowledged and encouraged. The latest green light for accession negotiations with Ukraine, Moldova, and Bosnia and Herzegovina by the European Council clearly underline this. It is important that we maintain this momentum.
The EU needs to be fit for new members
The European Parliament can and should play a crucial role in the enlargement of our community. Our institutional frameworks offer us a range of instruments to support our partners in terms of democratic support, capacity building or parliamentary exchange.
Finally, if we expect aspiring Member States to be fit to join the EU, the EU needs to be fit for them to join. An enlarged European Union will only be stronger if we ensure the continued functioning of our European institutions and institutional processes. This will be a key responsibility for this new term. The internal decision-making processes need to be reformed to gear up for the challenges of an enlarged Union, especially in our CFSP. The Commission’s proposal on pre-enlargement reforms and policy reviews are a welcome step. The Council ought to adopt a clear roadmap for future work, so that we can start this new term with headwind
