EU sets new rules for accession negotiations

BRUSSELS

The European Commission adopted a new procedure for accession negotiations for the Western Balkans, the Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The aim of the revised methodology is to “re-establish a credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans”, Oliver Varhelyi said.

The EU perceives enlargement as “geostrategic investment” to establish peace and prosperity in the region, the commissioner explained.

He also expressed hope that EU leaders would give a green light for starting accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania before May’s EU-Western Balkans Summit in Zagreb.

He warned to be cautious with deadlines, but reassured the public the European Commission was working on the case.

EU heads of state and government could not approve the opening of the enlargement process with the two countries due to France’s opposition in October.

The new procedure incorporates several ideas suggested by the French government. For example, the negotiation process can be reversed or completely suspended in case of no progress or backslide in certain policy areas.

In reality, it means that already closed negotiation chapters can be reopened if the candidate country failed to deliver the promised reforms.

The European Commission will also join its forces with national experts from member states to assess the candidate country’s development.

According to Varhelyi, the EU also needs to deliver its promises in order to establish “trust and credibility” for its partners. This is why the EU will be more precise and predictable in the new process by making clear when the given reforms need to be delivered.

The EU offers to speed up the negotiations process if it is already visible at the opening of the negotiation chapters that the candidate country will be able to implement the required reforms immediately. This way, the negotiation chapter can be closed in one year instead of the usual period of 6-8 years.

According to the new proposal, EU leaders are required to have an annual debate on achievements of the candidate countries

The new methodology only concerns those countries who have not yet started the negotiations process. The new rules do not apply to Serbia or Turkey, which were already granted the candidate status.