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There has been growing frustration among the accession candidates from the Western Balkans in recent years because of the slow pace of enlargement; no new country has joined the EU since Croatia in 2013.
However, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine there has been a new emphasis on enlargement. That resulted in Moldova, Ukraine and later Bosnia being given candidate status, while Albania and North Macedonia were given the
go ahead to start accession negotiations in 2022.
“A Europe that is expanding, strengthening and can play on an equal footing with other powers in an unstable world. This is the challenge of the next decade,” commented French Europe Minister Laurence Boone on X.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Várhlyi said the meeting had "analysed ways
of speeding up enlargement”. He commented that "the most important thing at the moment is to put all the tools on the table to speed up accessions" and said the EU Council "has to be ready to admit new members before 2030”.
Várhlyi plans to present a package “which will include ten candidate countries or countries with the prospect of accession" within the coming weeks.
Internal reforms needed
2030 has been put forward as a potential target date for accession, but influential politicians including French President Emmanuel Macron have stressed the need for internal reforms to the EU before that takes place.
The decision-making process in particular may be changed, as currently unanimity is required for decisions on important issues such as foreign and security policy and taxation. As the bloc expands, however, the unanimity requirement is perceived as potentially hindering or even obstructing the progress of the EU.
Another area where change may be required is agriculture, given Ukraine’s importance as an agricultural producer.
Letting Ukraine into the EU would require substantial alterations to the current system of direct payments to farmers.
Similarly, the EU's regional policy, which currently allocates funding
to support the development of less affluent EU member states, would need to be altered.
The Franco-German document, put forward for an initial discussion on
The deepest level of integration would comprise an inner circle akin to the eurozone, where member states use the single currency and are members of the passport-free Schengen travel zone.
The second tier would encompass the broader EU, while a larger circle beyond that would consist of associate members. These associate members would take part in the EU's single market for goods and services and uphold the EU's common principles.
“A Europe that is expanding, strengthening and can play on an equal footing with other powers in an unstable world. This is the challenge of the next decade”
September 19, proposed allowing certain EU countries to engage in varying degrees of cooperation, effectively creating four tiers of European integration.
Lastly, there would be the European Political Community that would serve as an outer tier for political cooperation, but whose members are not bound by EU law.”
Ministers at the informal general affairs meeting in Murcia on September 28. / European Council
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