Thewesternbalkans
On the first day of its meeting (December 14-15, 2023), the European Council adopted important decisions on the enlargement of the Union. Following the conclusions of the meeting:
The European Council is recalling the Granada Declaration, and underlines that enlargement is a geo-strategic investment in peace, security, stability and prosperity. It is a driver for improving the economic and social conditions of European citizens, reducing disparities between countries, and must foster the values on which the Union is founded. Looking ahead to the prospect of a further enlarged Union, both future Member States and the EU need to be ready at the time of accession. Work on both tracks should advance in parallel. Aspiring members need to step up their reform efforts, notably in the area of rule of law, in line with the merit-based nature of the accession process and with the assistance of the EU. In parallel, the Union needs to lay the necessary internal groundwork and reforms, setting the Union’s long-term ambitions and the ways to achieve them, and addressing key questions related to its priorities and policies as well as its capacity to act. This will make the EU stronger and will enhance European sovereignty.
The European Council endorsed the Council conclusions on enlargement of 12 December 2023. Building on the Commission’s enlargement package of 8 November 2023, the European Council taked the following decisions:
The European Council decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and with the Republic of Moldova.
The European Council invites the Council to adopt the respective negotiating frameworks once the relevant steps set out in the respective Commission recommendations of 8 November 2023 are taken.
The European Council also decided to grant the status of candidate country to Georgia, on the understanding that the relevant steps set out in the Commission recommendation of 8 November 2023 are taken.
The European Council reaffirms its full and unequivocal commitment to the EU membership perspective of the Western Balkans, and remains committed to advancing the gradual integration between the European Union and the region during the enlargement process itself in a reversible and merit-based manner.
The European Council will open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is achieved. It invited the Commission to report to the Council on progress at the latest in March 2024, with a view to making a decision.
The European Union is ready to complete the opening phase of the accession negotiations with North Macedonia as soon as it has implemented its commitment to complete the constitutional changes as referred to in the Council conclusions of 18 July 2022, in line with its internal procedures. The European Council calls on North Macedonia to accelerate the completion of these changes.
The European Council taked note of the Commission’s Communication on a new growth plan for the Western Balkans, which aims to accelerate the socio-economic convergence between the Western Balkans and the European Union, based on strict conditionalities, and encourages the region to step up the pace of EU-related reforms and to advance regional economic integration through the Common Regional Market, based on EU rules and standards.
As the Union enlarges, successful European integration requires that Union policies be fit for the future and financed in a sustainable manner, based on the values on which the Union is founded, and that the EU institutions continue to function effectively.
The European Council will address internal reforms at its upcoming meetings with a view to adopting by summer 2024 conclusions on a roadmap for future work.
Comments:
The decisions of the European Council on the enlargement of the EU confirm the adopted line of geostrategic orientation already at the summit in Granada. The decisions to start negotiations with Ukraine, Moldova and BiH (conditionally) are purely political and it is up to these countries to show that they can conduct negotiations. The decision on the Republic of North Macedonia practically separates Macedonia from Albania in the negotiation process and finally makes it clear to Skopje that the decisions of the European Council must be implemented. In general, the European Council confirmed the commitments made by the EU to the countries of the Western Balkans during the summit on December 13 this year.
