Budapest, 9 September 2024
Honourable Members of all the Parliaments of Europe,
Dear President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian National Assembly,
Dear Speaker,
Dear David, Chair of the AFET Committee of the European Parliament,
It is a great honour to be here today with you and it is an even greater honour that this is the occasion when this forum visits Budapest. For any Hungarians, as you know, to speak in this house is always a privilege. This is the House where the Hungarians are discussing their affairs for over a 100 years now and this is the House where Hungarian democracy lives. Again, thank you very much for having me today.
I tried to contribute to your debate today by giving you a snapshot, as I was requested, about all the dimensions and sensitivities of the issue related to the enlargement of the European Union. I do hope that together, as we are together today, we should be able to push forward the topic of enlargement and also to push for a new wave on enlargement in the next Commission.
Honourable Members,
As you know, Enlargement policy became a top priority of the European Union. But it started by this Commission making it its own top priority.
Today, due the geopolitical and security situation we see in Europe, enlargement has become inevitable. Inevitable because there is no peace, prosperity, security of Europe without enlargement. I think that our discussion in the next mandate will be very much shaped by the topic of enlargement. And let me already give you my conclusion on this debate, which is that today it is no longer the question whether we will have enlargement, the question is when we will have enlargement. I think the faster it happens, the faster we make this geopolitical investment to fortify and consolidate the fundamentals for our long-term peace, stability, security, and prosperity throughout our continent.
Honourable Members,
Our enlargement policy, the beacon of hope for lasting peace and stability in the Western Balkans and the Eastern neighbourhood, has seen significant progress over the course of this mandate. We have made historic decisions in the past months and years, and I am proud of the track record of this Commission regarding enlargement because it is truly impressive. Just let me give you an outline:
- We have received 4 new applications for EU membership: Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Kosovo; all in 2022.
- We have 4 countries to which candidate status was granted: Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
- EU leaders also decided to open accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, with Ukraine and Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina and invited the Council to adopt the negotiating framework.
- The 1st IGC to reinvigorate the enlargement process, agreement on the application of the revised enlargement methodology to the accession negotiations with Montenegro and Serbia has been met.
- And we have the 1st IGCs on the accession negotiations with Albania, North Macedonia, Ukraine and Moldova.
- And we have the 1st IGC with Montenegro leading us to the final stage of it accession to the European Union by starting to close the chapters; happened only this June.
So, as you can see, we have reasonable grounds to be pleased about these five years. We seized the momentum around enlargement, and we put down all the tools and instruments for the leaders of Europe to make it happen and complete our Union. This progress gives us reason to be optimistic about the future of the EU.
Recently, we have created the large facilities that should bring these new countries into the European Union:
- First, the recently adopted Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, which has entered into force only May this year, lays down the ground for implementing the accelerated gradual integration so our partners are better prepared for a smoother accession process. This unprecedented offer of an additional EUR 6 billion in financial support to the Western Balkans aims to boost the socio-economic development and convergence of the region with the EU and should provide the benefits of the membership even before accession takes place. At the same time, it also promotes economic integration within the region through the Common Regional Market. Here I want to underline that together with the Reform and Growth Facility, the total EU financial support given to the Western Balkans will by 2027 reach a comparable level of aid intensity as we see in the current cohesion and structural funds countries of the European Union. Meaning 90% of aid intensity by 2027. And on top of this, the Growth Plan should also accelerate the reform processes of the Western Balkans. Each of our partners has been working to provide us with a Reform Agenda, which outlines how and when our partners will complete the reforms that are necessary for joining the European Union.
- Second, to ensure that Ukraine will be well prepared when it joins as well as for the recovery-reconstruction works a 50 billion euros Ukraine Facility was created for the 2024 – 2027 which entered into force in March this year. With this Facility the EU has scaled up its support to the country. Already in July the Commission made a positive assessment to release the first regular instalment under the Ukraine Facility, which was close to EUR 4.2 billion. All in all, we plan to pay EUR 16 billion to Ukraine’s budget in this year, subject to the country fulfilling the reform conditionalities.
Honourable Members,
As my second point – let me give you a short snapshot of where we are with the dossiers of our partners:
First maybe on Montenegro: We reached a particular milestone in June during the intergovernmental conference with Montenegro. The EU was able to recognize the progress made by the country on the rule of law by meeting the interim benchmarks in chapters 23 and 24. At the same time, the EU set closing benchmarks for these fundamental chapters for Montenegro. Ten years after the last accession, the accession of Croatia back in 2013, this is the first time that closing benchmarks for the rule of law chapters are on the agenda. In line with the Revised Methodology for enlargement, that we adopted back in 2020, which is a set of updated guidelines and procedures to ensure a fair and transparent accession process with the “Fundamentals First” principle in the centre, this Methodology itself now paves the way for starting to close negotiating chapters in the coming months.
With Serbia, Albania, and perhaps North Macedonia as well – our objective is to hold intergovernmental conferences in the next months. With Serbia, we need to continue the negotiations and open Cluster 3: Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth. I also do hope that Cluster 1: Fundamentals with Albania and maybe with North Macedonia, could be opened soon, provided that the conditions set by the Council are met in relations to North Macedonia.
Then, with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Council also decided to open accession negotiations earlier this year in March. The Commission is preparing the negotiating framework in view of its adoption by the Council once all relevant steps are made.
Regarding Türkiye, we are actively engaged with Ankara to re-energize our bilateral relations. After five years, we just had a productive exchange with the Turkish Foreign Minister at the latest Gymnich meeting at the end of August. Based on the initial steps and the progress on the Turkish side, we hope that further steps could be unblocked so further high-level dialogues, gradual re-engagement of the European Investment Bank and re-launching the discussions on the mandate for the modernisation of the EU-Türkiye Customs Union – I do hope – could be organized in the relatively near future.
Further down the line, intergovernmental conferences could be envisaged in 2025 after Ukraine and Moldova have met the opening benchmarks for the opening of Cluster 1: Fundamentals.
It is crucial for Georgia to reconfirm its commitment to EU membership and move forward on its EU path.
I also wish to stress that Belgrade and Pristina need to progress in the EU-led Dialogue to move ahead on their respective EU paths. The constructive approach is needed, and unilateral actions that raise tensions have to be avoided.
Additionally, as the Reform and Growth Facility builds upon the EUR 30 billion Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans, which mobilizes 1/3 of the GDP of the entire region, we are raising the financial support to a level that is going to be comparable to our cohesion and structural funds policy.
With this, all the tools are in place for our partners, it is now their turn to step up the work because these tools can accelerate meaningfully their accession process and these tools are there to make them ready to join the European Union.
Honourable Members,
As a conclusion:
In 2019, at the beginning of this Commission’s mandate, we had seven enlargement partners; now, we have ten. We had five candidate countries, and now, there are nine. EU accession negotiations have been opened with three countries by 2019, and as of today, we have eight countries included in the accession negotiations process.
Enlargement is and will remain at the top of the political agenda, as the European project is not going to be complete without our Balkan friends and friends from the East joining us.
Accession to the EU is and will be a merit-based process; it is based on the Copenhagen criteria. It is also clear that accession to the EU is dependent on the progress each country makes; starting with the reforms in the fundamentals. This is the principle which is of utmost importance for our Member States. The candidates and potential candidates must therefore show their full commitment in their delivery of the reforms and their respective EU paths.
In parallel, we must ensure that the Enlargement Policy – as agreed in our Revised Enlargement Methodology – stays credible, predictable, dynamic, and subject to even stronger political steering. The EU is fit for enlargement and ready to welcome new Member States in the coming years. The candidate countries have been provided with many of the necessary tools and support to become members of the European Union. Therefore, I am convinced that the next Commission will have to be an Enlargement Commission, which will pave the way for the next wave on enlargement at the end of its mandate.
Honourable Members,
Today, peace, prosperity, and stability, which the EU represents, are not granted. We all need to work for it. The following months and years will be crucial. Will Europe be able to grab its future into its own hands and complete the job to create a bigger, stronger, and more stable Union for all? I have high hopes. And I count on all 27 EU Member States to help us deliver.
Thank you for your attention.
Source – EU Commission