{"id":336713,"date":"2024-02-15T11:39:18","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T10:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2024\/02\/15\/allargamento-ue-iniziativa-cese\/"},"modified":"2024-02-19T16:39:11","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T15:39:11","slug":"eesc-eu-enlargement-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2024\/02\/15\/eesc-eu-enlargement-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"EESC EU enlargement initiative inaugurated under the eyes of prime ministers of Albania and Montenegro"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels–After promises, the first initiative for concrete involvement of EU candidate countries: The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) today (Feb. 15) officially launched the\u00a0EU enlargement candidate members initiative<\/a> to integrate 131 members of civil society from the nine EU candidate countries <\/strong>-Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine – in the Committee’s consultative work through 2024, becoming the first EU institution to take this step.<\/p>\n

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\"EU<\/a>
From left: European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) Chairman Oliver R\u00f6pke, Montenegro’s Prime Minister Milojko Spaji\u0107, Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama, and EU Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency V\u00eara Jourov\u00e1 (Feb. 15, 2024)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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“When I took office, I promised\u00a0it as one of the first initiatives,” recalled the president of the EESC, Oliver R\u00f6pke<\/strong>, speaking of the involvement of the countries taking part\u00a0in the EU enlargement project. After the launch initiative in September 2023 and the early January invitation<\/a> to submit applications, “the response was huge, with 567 applications.<\/strong>\u00a0It\u00a0showed how dynamic and active the civil society in these countries is.”<\/p>\n

131\u00a0members were chosen in February who will now be able to participate in the full cycle of opinions (study groups, section meetings, and plenary sessions), with\u00a0a specific annual plenary on EU enlargement issues scheduled for September\u00a0<\/strong>and the project evaluation in December 2024: as of today, 13 members from Albania, 9 from Bosnia and Herzegovina, 15 from Georgia, 16 from Moldova, 14 from Montenegro, 14 from North Macedonia, 13 from Serbia, 15 from Turkey, and 22 from Ukraine will be integrated into the committee. “It is a new phase. You can bring a new vision to the EU<\/strong>,” President R\u00f6pke said. “Membership in the EU is the political insurance against the threats of autocrats,”\u00a0V\u00eara Jourov\u00e1,<\/strong>\u00a0Vice-President of the EU Commission for Values and Transparency,\u00a0<\/strong>added, promising — ahead of the new European legislature and as a commitment of the future Commission–that “we will push integration with EU candidate countries wherever possible<\/strong>, there are many open doors” also thanks to the new Western Balkans Growth Plan.<\/p>\n

The EESC\u00a0initiative was presented in Brussels in the presence of the premiers of Montenegro, Milojko Spaji\u0107<\/strong>, and Albania, Edi Rama<\/strong>. “We will do all our work in line with\u00a0the merit-based approach. We don’t want shortcuts,” the Montenegrin prime minister assured, recalling that “we were the first to bring civil society representatives into the negotiating process” that began in 2012: “The government’s priority is to implement reforms, taking advantage of this positive moment<\/strong>” that began with the last year’s new political cycle<\/a>. “Everyone should realize that\u00a0the EU is important to us like\u00a0we are important to the EU,” Albanian Prime Minister Rama warned, calling\u00a0the EESC\u00a0“the first great example of how we should see the near common future<\/strong>.” That is, “to be an integral and voting part,” also\u00a0in the other EU institutions “at different levels and in different committees,” from Parliament to the Commission to the EU Council. Rama called the Union “more aware of the strategic importance of the Balkans not only in words but also in deeds,” even though\u00a0“it is sad to see that we needed Putin to give us a jolt and open our eyes. W<\/strong>e cannot wait for a new invasion, a new disaster” to push this process.<\/p>\n