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Just two days before the European Commission publishes its opinion on granting candidate status to Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, France’s plan to establish a European Political Union is being discussed in the European Union.
France has introduced a “non-paper” to member states, to which Radio Free Europe has also had access. In the language of the European institutions, “non-paper” is an informal document, which is presented in closed negotiations within the EU institutions, in an attempt to find agreement on a disputed issue.
The document on the European Political Union was sent on the eve of a meeting of EU and Western Balkan leaders in Brussels next week, on June 23rd. The European Council also meets on the same day, with the theme of EU enlargement.
“On June 23 and 24, the European Council will have forward the request to decide on the application of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, based on the opinion of the European Commission. Whatever is achieved at this stage in this Council [Evropian]enlargement policy, due to the necessary reform requirements to be met to join the European Union, and the duration that follows due to this, does not today provide the necessary policy framework to respond to historical needs and “geopolitics arising from the war against Ukraine and to build the political structure of our European continent”, writes in this “non-paper” of France.
“For this reason, we propose that this year the European Political Community be established among all European countries that want to jointly contribute to the security, stability and prosperity of our continent,” the document reads.
It also underlines that “the European Political Community will be open to European states that share democratic values, regardless of whether or not they are members of the European Union and regardless of the nature of their relations with the European Union.”
France argues that a European Political Community would not replace the Council of Europe or the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), or transatlantic relations.
“But today we do not have a non-specialized European forum that would unite all members of the European family equally and in the spirit of the unity of our continent,” said the French “non-paper”.
According to France, all multilateral frameworks will remain, but a sense of unity must be created.
France sees the European Political Union as a community that would strengthen political, economic, cultural and security ties between its members. “It will provide a forum for coordination, decision-making and collaborative projects to respond concretely. to the challenges faced by all countries on the European continent; “Foreign and security policy, development of infrastructure and interconnection, mobility, migration, fight against organized crime and relations with other geopolitical actors”, reads the letter that France has distributed to clarify the idea of President Emanuel Macron for the European Political Union .
With this letter France has made efforts to silence the voices that have warned that this idea may be intended to undermine the enlargement process by creating alternatives.
“The European Political Union will not be an alternative to EU membership and will not be a substitute for the enlargement process. For European countries that want to become members of the European Union, it will be, moreover, an opportunity to strengthen ties with EU countries before becoming a member, both politically and in terms of participating in some EU policies. “, and, where appropriate, to be gradually integrated into the EU internal market,” the document reads.
According to France’s plan, the European Political Union would have a form of “light legal structure”, with decision-making capacities, respecting the decision-making autonomy of the European Union and each member state that makes up the community. Meetings within the European Political Community would take place several times a year, at the level of Heads of State or Ministers.
In addition to France, the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, had proposed a similar idea, but he called it the “European Geopolitical Community”.
France at the end of this month ends the rotating presidency of the European Union, while from July 1 until the end of the year the Czech Republic will have this role./REL
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