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Russia’s war on Ukraine has revived the debate about the EU enlargement process and highlighted the need to speed up the procedures left in place by the previous Commission; European enlargement commissioner Oliver Varhleyi affirmed for Euractiv that the recently created situation has injected new energy into the bloc’s will for enlargement.
His comments came after EU leaders granted Ukraine and Moldova candidate status in June as a sign of solidarity in response to Russian aggression, while this month member states gave the green light to start long-delayed membership talks with Macedonia. of the North and Albania.
“Perhaps the only positive impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine is that it clarified the discussion about enlargement and the absorption capacity of the EU. We Europeans now not only understand, but we are ready to realize this, because Europe will not enjoy security, stability and prosperity without the Western Balkans being fully integrated,” Varhelyi said.
In recent years, the appetite for enlargement has waned within the EU and some member states have pushed for internal reforms before the bloc accepts any new members. Remember, we took over from a Commission that eats “no enlargement”, the damage was done there, said Varhleyi, adding that only in the second half of the mandate, the Juncker Commission “understood that this was a strategic mistake. .” There is now a clear political will to move forward. After Skopje resolved the protracted dispute with neighboring EU member Bulgaria, the way for accession negotiations was opened for Albania. Her patience is now paying off.
“Albania really showed with North Macedonia the maturity to understand that our member countries wanted both of them to move forward. Now, however, Albania can continue on its own. The whole process of expansion is based on merit and now the competition is open, whoever offers results first will be a member first,” Varhelyi said.
On July 19, Tirana and Skopje started the process of negotiations for EU membership after a long ordeal of waiting, delays and obstacles.
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