The European Union needs to adjust its institutional and financial capacities as it prepares for enlargement, and this process should be more closely monitored by the European Parliament.
This assessment comes from a report voted on Tuesday in the joint meeting of the Constitutional Affairs Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee in the European Parliament.
The report titled “Deepening of EU integration in the light of enlargement” emphasizes the significant importance of the enlargement process as a geostrategic initiative that will strengthen peace, stability, and prosperity in the European continent.
Support is expressed for all countries in the Western Balkans region, as well as for Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, all of which aim to join the EU.
The report was approved with 56 votes in favor, 20 against, and six abstentions in the joint meeting of the Constitutional Affairs Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee.
“We emphasize that institutional and financial reforms to promote good governance, functionality, and sustainability are necessary to ensure that the EU has the capacity to absorb new members and promote their successful integration,” the report states.
The report also proposes the need for institutional reforms, including simplifying decision-making procedures, abandoning unanimity in favor of qualified majority voting in areas such as the defense of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, sanctions, and relevant decisions in foreign policy.
This proposal aims to prevent the blocking of some decisions by member states.
Candidate countries are required to fulfill their tasks before becoming EU members.
This includes a clear demonstration of commitment to EU membership, as well as resolving open issues and bilateral and regional disagreements.
Among other things, the report mentions that some reforms are needed in the EU before enlargement, as existing institutional mechanisms are not sufficient for a potentially 37-member European bloc.
The European Parliament calls for future multiannual financial frameworks of the EU to take into account enlargement, which will be a significant financial burden for the European Union.
Formally in the enlargement process are 10 countries.
Six countries from the Western Balkans – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia – have candidate status.
Kosovo does not enjoy this status, although it applied for EU membership in December 2022.
Finally, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia have recently gained candidate status. Turkey is another case; it started accession negotiations in October 2005, but the process is frozen, although Turkey continues to be treated as a candidate country and is part of the enlargement process.
