{"id":284690,"date":"2023-12-13T12:25:32","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T11:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2023\/12\/13\/allargamento-ue-progetto-geopolitico\/"},"modified":"2023-12-18T15:58:52","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T14:58:52","slug":"a-geopolitical-project-undermined-from-within-why-the-eu-must-change-pace-on-enlargement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2023\/12\/13\/a-geopolitical-project-undermined-from-within-why-the-eu-must-change-pace-on-enlargement\/","title":{"rendered":"A geopolitical project undermined from within. Why the EU must change pace on enlargement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels – The future is a step away. However, in between, there is the obstacle of a European Council that, for now, is a hostage to the decisions of a single leader, Hungarian Prime Minister\u00a0Viktor Orb\u00e1n<\/strong>. The situation highlights not only the importance of EU enlargement on a geostrategic level – particularly after the outbreak of the Russian war in Ukraine – but, more importantly,\u00a0the Union’s current difficulties in fulfilling its decades-long promises to the candidate countries<\/strong>\u00a0while simultaneously carrying out internal reform so as not to distort the Union with the potential entry of 10 new member states in the medium- to long-term future.<\/p>\n

\"Allargamento<\/a>
Ursula von der Leyen (8 Nov. 2023)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The need to focus more seriously on EU enlargement emerged urgently after February 24, 2022, with the demands of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia to join the Union. The Russian offensive demonstrated\u00a0the risks of a continent at the mercy of an imperialist project by Moscow<\/strong>, which would be interested in the\u00a0annexation of the former Soviet countries<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and the destabilization with hybrid warfare of what has always represented\u00a0the black hole of European integration<\/strong>: the six Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia), which in various forms and at different stages\u00a0have all already been on the road to EU membership for years<\/span><\/a>. In other words, the project of “peace, democracy and stability on the continent” represented by the European Union – as all leaders of EU institutions keep repeating – cannot materialize\u00a0if countries that have applied to join, continue to be ignored<\/strong>\u00a0since the frustration of politicians and citizens (overwhelmingly pro-European) will drive them to seek support in autocratic regimes such as Russia. Serbia’s failure to align with restrictive measures against Moscow and Bosnian Serb secessionism against Sarajevo has been\u00a0a clear wake-up call<\/span><\/a>. We must acknowledge that the push for EU enlargement is not only a matter of fulfilling promises or anti-Russia. It has also become a real priority for the Union, politically and economically. This is demonstrated first\u00a0by the series of billion-euro packages in direct and indirect investments<\/strong>\u00a0in support of all the closest partners – from those for the financial survival of Ukraine to economic growth for the Western Balkans, as well as support against the energy crisis. And then we must remember the\u00a0new 2030 target,\u00a0<\/strong>which the president of the European Council,\u00a0Charles Michel,<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>announced<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in late August providing, also controversially, a date by which everyone is ready for EU enlargement, inside and outside the Union. While implicitly contesting the setting of a time target in a “merit-based” process, the president of the European Commission,\u00a0Ursula von der Leyen<\/strong>, also took it a step further in her latest\u00a0State of the Union speech<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in September, explicitly linking the EU enlargement process to the reform of the Treaties on which the EU is founded.<\/p>\n

\"Bled<\/a><\/figure>\n

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel (August 28,\u00a02023)<\/p>\n

This is the heart of the issue: the process of regenerating the Union by making it able to face future challenges. On the basis of a\u00a0particularly articulate Franco-German proposal<\/span><\/a>, the 27 EU leaders at the informal Council in Granada began discussing a\u00a0three-point strategic agenda<\/span><\/a>\u00a0– future priorities, decision-making system, and joint financing arrangements – that inevitably hold together EU enlargement and treaty reform. In addition to discussions, urgent action is needed because\u00a0membership requests are already on the table, requiring an immediate response<\/strong>. Among other things, an internal reform could not overlook unanimity and the right of veto in the Council because\u00a0a Union of 32<\/strong>\u00a0States (including candidates who have already started accession negotiations),\u00a0of 35<\/strong>\u00a0(with even those who have received candidate status)\u00a0or 37<\/strong>\u00a0(with everyone in, including Kosovo and Georgia),\u00a0in which one country can keep the entire joint decision-making system<\/strong>\u00a0at a standstill, is unimaginable. However, the reform will have to be agreed upon by all current members of the Union, and this is where the whole stage, at the moment, is at risk of failure. Due to different issues, including the fact that funds will have to be redistributed among more countries (especially those of cohesion and agriculture) and the awareness that without the veto right, the weight of each individual country is worthless (in other words, it would no longer be possible to ‘blackmail’ Brussels to get something in exchange for unanimity),\u00a0some of the 27 Member States show no interest in aligning themselves with this EU ambition<\/strong>, on which the EU enlargement process itself depends. In particular, Orb\u00e1n’s Hungary has chosen an open obstructionist stance toward the start of accession negotiations with Ukraine and the continuation of funding to Kyiv, as\u00a0a kind of revenge for the freezing of nearly 30 billion euros<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in EU funds for failure to uphold the rule of law. The real risk now is that not only will there not be a green light from the European Council scheduled for tomorrow and the day after (Dec. 14-15) for negotiations with Ukraine, but that\u00a0the entire EU enlargement process will run aground<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in the most decisive week in years.<\/p>\n

How far has EU enlargement come?<\/h3>\n

.Of the\u00a0six Western Balkan countries<\/strong>\u00a0that have begun the long road to EU membership, four have begun accession negotiations -Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia – one has received candidate status – Bosnia and Herzegovina – and the last has formally applied and is awaiting the response of the 27 Member States – Kosovo.\u00a0Tirana and Skopje<\/strong>\u00a0began negotiations in July last year<\/span><\/a>\u00a0after waiting eight and 17 years, respectively, while\u00a0Podgorica and Belgrade\u00a0<\/strong>have been at this stage<\/span><\/a>\u00a0for 11 and nine years, respectively. Six years after applying for EU membership, on December 15 last year,\u00a0Sarajevo\u00a0<\/strong>also became a candidate<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to join the Union, while\u00a0Pristina is in the most complicated position<\/strong>\u00a0after the\u00a0formal application sent late last year<\/span><\/a>: since the unilateral declaration of independence from Belgrade in 2008, five EU member states -Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Spain, and Slovakia – continue not to recognize it as a sovereign state: the upheaval in EU enlargement.\"EU<\/a>The upheaval in EU enlargement began four days after Russia’s armed aggression when, in the midst of the war,\u00a0Ukraine<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0applied for “immediate” membership in the Union, with the application signed on February 28, 2022, by President Zelensky. Three days later (March 3),\u00a0Georgia<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Moldova<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>also decided to take the same path, demonstrating the irreversibility of the rapprochement process with Brussels as a clear reaction to the risk that Moscow would erase their independence. On June 23, 2022, the European Council\u00a0approved<\/span><\/a>\u00a0the line outlined by the Commission in its\u00a0recommendation<\/span><\/a>:\u00a0Kyiv and Chi\u0219in\u0103u became the sixth and seventh candidates for EU membership<\/strong>, while Tbilisi was recognized as having a European perspective in the EU enlargement process. In the\u00a0EU Enlargement Package 2023<\/strong>, the Commission\u00a0recommended<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that the Council open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova — also with Bosnia and Herzegovina when compliance with accession criteria was achieved — and grant Georgia candidate status. On the other hand negotiations for\u00a0Turkey<\/strong>‘s\u00a0<\/strong>accession to the European Union were launched in 2005 but have been frozen since 2018 due to setbacks on democracy, rule of law, fundamental rights, and judicial independence. The\u00a0chapter on Turkey<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in the latest Annual Enlargement Package, unveiled in October 2022, stated that the country “does not reverse its course and continues to move away from EU positions on the rule of law, increasing tensions over border respect in the Eastern Mediterranean.” At the NATO summit in Vilnius at the end of June, the Turkish president,\u00a0Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan<\/strong>, tried to force his hand,\u00a0threatening<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that he would only bind Sweden’s membership in the Atlantic Alliance when Brussels opens Turkey’s path back to the European Union. The blackmail\u00a0did not go through<\/span><\/a>, but the dossier on Ankara was addressed in a\u00a0strategic report<\/span><\/a>\u00a0affixed in Brussels.<\/p>\n

\"Negoziati<\/a><\/p>\n

How to join the European Union<\/h3>\n

.
\nThe EU enlargement process begins with a non-EU state submitting a\u00a0formal application for membership<\/strong>\u00a0to the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. Union membership first requires\u00a0passing an exam of the Copenhagen criteria<\/strong>\u00a0(established at the European Council in the Danish capital in 1993 and strengthened by the EU leaders meeting in Madrid two years later). These criteria are divided into\u00a0three groups of basic requests<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that the Union addresses to the country that has applied for membership: rule of law and democratic institutions (including respect for human rights and the protection of minorities), stable market economy (ability to cope with market forces and competitive pressure), and fulfillment of its obligations (effectively implementing the body of EU law and meeting the objectives of political, economic and monetary of the political Union).union).<\/p>\n

<\/a>Having obtained the\u00a0favorable opinion of the Commission<\/strong>, the conferment of\u00a0candidate country status<\/strong>\u00a0comes with the approval of all members of the Union. After this, the Commission\u00a0recommends to the EU Council to open negotiations<\/strong>\u00a0that, again, require the unanimous go-ahead of the member countries: this allows to open\u00a0negotiating chapters<\/strong>\u00a0(varying in number), the purpose of which is to prepare the candidate, particularly on the implementation of the necessary judicial, administrative and economic reforms. Upon completion of negotiations, and when EU enlargement is possible in terms of absorption capacity,\u00a0the Accession Treaty<\/strong>\u00a0is signed<\/strong>\u00a0(with terms and conditions for accession, including any safeguard clause and transitional provisions), which must first be\u00a0approved unanimously<\/strong>\u00a0by the European Parliament and the Council. A parallel and separate process applies for the Western Balkans for the EU accession negotiations, which, however, impacts EU enlargement. The\u00a0stabilization and association process<\/strong>\u00a0aims to help the Balkan partners for eventual accession through political and economic objectives that stabilize the region and create a free trade area. After establishing a general framework of bilateral relations between the European Union and the partner country the\u00a0Stabilization and Association Agreement is signed,\u00a0<\/strong>offering the prospect of accession.\"Processo<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Find more insights on the Balkan region in the newsletter BarBalcani<\/b><\/a> hosted by Eunews<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brussels – The future is a step away. However, in between, there is the obstacle of a European Council that, for now, is a hostage to the decisions of a single leader, Hungarian Prime Minister\u00a0Viktor Orb\u00e1n. The situation highlights not only the importance of EU enlargement on a geostrategic level – particularly after the outbreak […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5647,"featured_media":277791,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"1","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"0","show_view_counter":"0","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":"","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"","hide":""},"jnews_override_counter":{"override_view_counter":"0","view_counter_number":"0","override_share_counter":"0","share_counter_number":"0","override_like_counter":"0","like_counter_number":"0","override_dislike_counter":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25711,25707],"tags":[26013,26009,26006,26007,26011,26012,26014,26010,26008,25839,25836,25930,26015],"class_list":["post-284690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinions","category-world-politics","tag-adesione-ue-albania-en","tag-accession-ue-bosnia-en","tag-accession-eu-moldova-en","tag-adesione-ue-montenegro-en","tag-accession-eu-turkey-en","tag-adesione-ue-macedonia-en","tag-accession-ue-georgia-en","tag-eu-accession-ukraine","tag-eu-enlargement-en","tag-european-union-in-2","tag-reform-of-treaties-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5647"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284690"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":285995,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284690\/revisions\/285995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}