Martha Kos
The Commissioner’s comments come after the European Commission this week published an update on the enlargement process for candidate countries including Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkan countries.
While the EU says it is committed to enlargement, the bloc insists conditions must be met and new members must share fundamental views on key issues to avoid a repeat of Hungary’s experience of political non-alignment.
These stipulate easier and faster accession options without full voting rights, of which the European enlargement commissioner is not a supporter. “I am categorically against this. We cannot have second-class citizens,” Marta Kos said, urging countries to step up political momentum beyond technical work. This is needed to break the stalemate in the process, which was brought about by Orban’s veto on Ukraine, preventing the opening of cluster talks – a necessary step – and impacting Moldova.
In its report, the Commission cited Montenegro as a leader in joining the bloc, along with Albania. Moldova’s efforts were also praised, while Ukraine was urged to continue its reform program, especially in the fight against corruption.
With regard to Serbia, it was noted that the rule of law has been abandoned. The excessive use of force by the police to suppress protests was condemned. Kos noted that President Vucic’s foreign policy, from Russia to sanctions, was at odds with the EU agenda.
As the country’s foreign policy perspective becomes a litmus test, Moldova actually has a good chance of waking up as an EU member one day, similar to the Baltic states after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The chances are even increasing with the information that the US and Russia are ready to present a peace plan without the EU and Ukraine being involved in the negotiations.
Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu’s enthusiastic speech at the forum about the successes achieved by the country in this context obviously looked very convincing.
The head of the Moldovan Cabinet of Ministers noted that despite a number of shocks, Moldova’s economy is not only stable, but also developing at an accelerated pace.
“Moldova is no longer a small market on the edge of Europe. Moldova is changing at an unprecedented pace, turning challenges into momentum and difficulties into opportunities. Moldova is becoming a platform for growth, a center of digital innovation, a reliable partner in the single market and a future EU Member State,” Munteanu said.
For the first time in a generation, the prospect of the Union’s enlargement is becoming real,” the press release published on Monday on the official website of the European Union in Moldova emphasized.
“With the most ambitious enlargement agenda in the last decade, the Commission’s strategic vision for 2024-2029 envisages a shift from ambition to implementation through a credible, merit-based, inclusive and forward-looking approach, reflecting European values and preparing the Union for future challenges,” the same press release said.
The initiative, which is in the early stages of discussion, suggests that new members would only receive full rights after the European Union revises its approach, making it more difficult for one state to block political decisions through a veto.
“I am getting clear signals from discussions with representatives of the Western Balkan states that this approach is considered constructive and viable,” said Anton Hofreiter, chairman of the German Bundestag’s European Affairs Committee.
In early November, the European Commission adopted its annual enlargement package, which provides a comprehensive assessment of the progress made by the enlargement partners over the past twelve months. The package confirms that the accession of new Member States is becoming increasingly feasible, although it is not without “step-by-step difficulties”.
The main efforts are aimed at promoting candidates who have already started negotiations or are on track to fulfill the requirements to start accession negotiations. The 2025 Package contains a detailed assessment of progress and recommendations for priority reforms, including for Moldova.
The EC report notes that Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova have undertaken the most reforms on the path to EU membership this year. According to the report, Moldova could finalize EU membership negotiations in 2028 “if it maintains the speed of the reform process and changes the national legislation in line with the European one,” calling the goal “ambitious but achievable.”
Specifically, Moldova has fulfilled the conditions necessary to open several negotiation clusters: No. 1 “Fundamentals”, No. 6 “External Relations” and No. 2 “Internal Market”. At the same time, all ten clusters can be opened for the Republic by the end of 2025.
“The Commission expects that Moldova will also fulfill the conditions for the opening of three more clusters and will continue to work to enable the European Council to accelerate the opening of all clusters by the end of the year,” the report said.
The assessments, accompanied by recommendations and guidelines on reform priorities, provide a roadmap. Meanwhile, “future Accession Treaties should contain stronger safeguards against derogation from commitments made during the accession negotiations”. To this end, the EC will soon present a Communiqué on deep policy review and reforms.
The main conclusions on Moldova concern the country’s completion of the “verification process”. Chisinau has adopted roadmaps on the rule of law, public administration and the functioning of democratic institutions, which the European Commission assessed positively.
In the opinion of former Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Muravski, the streamlined wording does not give an idea of the country’s progress towards EU accession: “We need specifics. Here is what has been done and how it has affected the economy, legal issues, social guarantees of the state, and the general welfare of its citizens”.
And maybe no one but us cares about these issues…..
