European Union (EU) Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi yesterday that the European Commission will present “substantial” proposals on enlargement in October.
Before the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Toledo, Spain, he confirmed that the EU’s executive body is “ready to make any proposal” to improve the integration process of the Western Balkan countries.
Varhelyi also welcomed the message of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, about the readiness of the EU members to “finally engage and make a big step forward in order to achieve enlargement”.
His comments came after Michel suggested on Monday that Western Balkan and EU candidate countries need to be ready for enlargement by 2030.
Moreover, he explained that the European Commission will make “substantial proposals” in October ahead of the EU leaders’ summit on October 26th and 27th.
The package will include a so-called “growth plan” that will “accelerate not only the institutional but also the real integration of people and economies into the EU.”
As the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen already said in May, the EU seeks to increase investments in the countries of the Western Balkans in order to mitigate the economic impact of the Russian war on Ukraine.
The plan aims to increase EU pre-accession funds and enable access to the single digital block market in areas such as e-commerce and cyber security.
