The representatives of the European Parliament, in the report adopted today, state that the enlargement is a strategic response to the changing geopolitical reality and a vital investment in the security and stability of the EU, the European Parliament announced.
Parliament argues that the cost of non-enlargement would exceed the cost of new EU members joining, which would risk creating geopolitical gray areas susceptible to antagonistic foreign influence. The report notes that Montenegro and Albania have already set ambitious goals for the completion of accession negotiations by the end of 2026 and 2027, respectively. The EU should encourage these countries when their ambitions are accompanied by tangible reforms, and members of the European Parliament call on the Council to recognize this momentum and remove all obstacles that exist on the EU side. The representatives of the European Parliament also want the quick opening of negotiation clusters with Ukraine and Moldova.
Affirming that accession must remain merit-based and reversible, and that no country should be treated as part of a package, MEPs stress that there can be no shortcut to the EU’s core values and principles. The rule of law, democratic reforms, media freedom, minority rights, independence of the judiciary and the fight against corruption must remain at the forefront of the enlargement process, with sustained support for civil society.
Compliance with the common foreign and security policy of the EU is a key indicator of the geostrategic orientation of the candidate country. MEPs note that the most worrying democratic backsliding occurs in the enlargement countries with the lowest compliance with the common foreign and security policy and in those where the accession process has effectively stalled.
MEPs note increased support for Iceland’s EU membership and welcome Greenland’s potential initiatives to strengthen ties with the EU.
Members of the European Parliament call for increased monitoring of reforms in the candidate countries within the framework of the “basis cluster” and for increased support for pro-European civil society actors who are dedicated to the necessary reforms and European values.
The report also states that there should be adequate pre-accession funding within the new long-term EU budget and deeper cooperation in the area of infrastructure, security, resilience and suppression of manipulation of foreign information.
The report was adopted with 385 votes in favor, 147 against and 98 abstentions.
Rapporteur Petras Auštrevičius (Renew, Lithuania) said: “With each new member, Europe’s political and economic power has grown, providing prosperity and security to its citizens. In light of today’s challenges, we must improve the EU integration model to better reflect the interests of the Union and the expectations of candidate countries. EU enlargement must go hand in hand with internal reforms to protect the EU’s functioning and improve decision-making processes, including greater use of qualified majority voting. The EU must complete these reforms by the time the leading candidates meet the criteria for membership and be ready for EU accession.”
