The president of the European Council wants, at the European summit in December, a green light from leaders to open formal negotiations for the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the European Union (EU), insisting on the “clear incentive” for enlargement in 2030 .
“December this year will be an important moment. It will be a difficult meeting, a difficult European Council and I would not underestimate the challenges, but the Commission should publish a report in the coming weeks. […] and the European Council in December should take some decisions on Ukraine and Moldova, if we open negotiations,” said Charles Michel, in an interview with the Lusa agency and other European media in Brussels.
Days before an informal European Council held on Friday in Granada by the Spanish presidency of the EU and focused on institutional reforms with a view to the enlargement of the bloc, the official also said that he expected decisions in December “on some of the countries of the Western Balkans”. This is when reports from the community executive on compliance with the reforms demanded by the candidate countries are expected at the beginning of November.
It will then be up to the European Council in December “to see what the report that the Commission will present will put on the table,” added Charles Michel.
“In recent months we gave clear signals when we decided to grant Ukraine the status [de país candidato]. We have sent a clear message, not only from the European Council, but also from many individual leaders, that we must accelerate the process and make the necessary efforts and the fact that on Friday, […] “The entire European Council will discuss the future of the EU taking into account the perspective of this enlargement, which I think is a very strong signal,” he said.
As for Ukraine and Moldova, which obtained official status as EU candidate countries in mid-2022, what is expected is that they will have, at the end of the year, the ‘green light’ to begin formal accession negotiations, an approval that requires the unanimity of European leaders.
The formal negotiations aim to prepare the candidate country in terms of adaptation to the legislation and implementation of the necessary judicial, administrative and economic reforms.
Having set the 2030 deadline for EU enlargement, Charles Michel stressed in the interview with Lusa and other European media: “I maintain this objective and this deadline, this is absolutely clear to everyone.”
“Why is this date important? Because it is a clear incentive for all of us to prepare and accelerate efforts and, without the indication of a date, there was a common objective, but it was easy to postpone things and not make the decisions that are necessary” . necessary,” stressed the president of the European Council.
A draft of the conclusions of the Granada summit, to which Lusa had access, reads that “the candidate countries must intensify their reform efforts, in particular in the area of the rule of law”, and the Union “must lay down the necessary bases to prepare for enlargement”.
Charles Michel also stated that it is “no surprise” that fighting corruption is “one of the top priorities” for countries like Ukraine to join the EU.
At the moment, countries such as Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, North Macedonia, Albania, Ukraine, Moldova and Bosnia-Herzegovina are in the “waiting line” to enter the European bloc, some of them without progress for several years.
Enlargement is the process by which states join the EU, after meeting the political and economic requirements.
Any European state that respects the EU’s democratic values and is committed to promoting them can apply for membership in the EU, but must go through a formal process to do so.
Source: TSF
