According to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the European Union (EU) is experiencing a period of “positive dynamism in relation to enlargement”. At the European Council which was held in Brussels on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 June, the 27 heads of state and government focused on this theme of enlargement, themselves reporting, in their conclusions, the “new impetus that the process is experiencing”.
And for good reason, the first “cluster” (understand: group of chapters) of negotiation, which relates to “values”, was able to be opened on Monday June 15 with Ukraine and Moldova, since Hungary lifted its veto on this burning issue. And as for the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia), the European Council said it was “determined to continue the gradual integration between the EU and the region”.
At the beginning of June, an EU-Western Balkans summit provided an opportunity to take stock of the progress of the negotiations. Bottom line: Montenegro is very likely to cross the finish line in the near future. The country could become the 28th member state of the European Union by 2028.
“It is important for me that we do not decide whether we should speed up the accession processes, but that we decide how we can speed them up,” said Friedrich Merz after the European Council.
The prospect of a “facilitated” integration process
In these debates, France and Germany play a leading role. Berlin has already proposed an unprecedented status of “associate member” for Ukraine, so that the country can participate in meetings of the European Council and the Council of the EU, without having the right to vote. Together, Paris and Berlin have also put down on paper their vision of an “easier” integration process for the candidate countries.
This “new approach” moves away from classic “chapter by chapter” negotiation, and imagines progress “sector by sector”. Candidates could thus, under certain conditions, integrate “blocs” of the internal market before their full accession to the Union. According to Friedrich Merz, at the European Council, “many colleagues are grateful” to Paris and Berlin for having taken matters into their own hands to “break the deadlock”.
But when it comes to enlargement, the path remains strewn with pitfalls. While the idea was circulating to open all the negotiation “clusters” for Ukraine now, this was postponed until later. In its conclusions, the European Council simply awaits “with interest” the opening of the other groups of chapters. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was present at the start of the meeting, for his part, continues to plead for “immediate accession to the EU”, but also to NATO.
It is also difficult for the Twenty-Seven to agree on the internal reforms which should go hand in hand with an enlargement of the EU. Many countries concede that the EU, in its current state, would struggle to “function” with more members. They are demanding solutions concerning, for example, the future of the rule of unanimity which prevails in areas such as foreign policy or taxation. An appointment is made in October, at the European Council, for a “strategic debate” on enlargement and reforms.
