The plan aims to give a “new dynamic” to EU enlargement
The initiative builds on ideas put forward last month by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who proposed granting Ukraine associate member status in the EU. Merz warned at the time that the slow pace of enlargement was causing frustration for all countries involved.
The Franco-German proposal comes ahead of an EU enlargement summit in Montenegro on Friday and is intended to send a political signal to Western Balkan states that they will not be left out of the EU accession process.
“We need to provide additional incentives through a gradual merit-based integration process and optimize the existing process to ensure faster and deeper integration,” the non-paper said.
The new plan envisions the creation of “building blocks” for candidate countries that have been in the EU’s “waiting room” for years. This will allow the governments of the Western Balkans and Moldova to become more actively involved in certain areas of European policy as internal reforms take place.
However, participation will remain reversible in case of deviations from the fundamental values and principles of the European Union.
Candidate states will be able to participate more actively in EU meetings, programs and policies
“We invite the European Commission to submit proposals to facilitate the gradual integration of candidate countries on the path to EU membership,” the document says.
David McAllister, chairman of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said the initiative could build confidence in the enlargement process.
“On the one hand, it supports the principle of an accession process based on merit and reform. On the other hand, it opens the possibility of an earlier and more visible linking of progress in reforms with gradual integration into European programs, institutions and policies,” the German MEP said.
Among the proposed measures is the organization of joint meetings between representatives of the Western Balkans, European Commissioners and MEPs twice a year. MEPs will also be able to meet more often with national legislators from the Western Balkans and Moldova.
Leaders and ministers of the candidate countries will be able to participate in informal meetings of the EU Council and the European Council on individual agenda items and as observers, without the right to vote, in other discussions.
The document also proposes increased cooperation in the field of security and defense, as well as more active participation in European programs such as Creative Europe, Erasmus+ and Horizon, the European Union’s research program.
In economic terms, candidate countries could be more deeply integrated in certain areas of the single market, including areas such as energy, the emissions trading system, industrial policy, digital policy, critical raw materials and agreements on sanitary and phytosanitary regulations.
At an advanced stage, the paper suggests that full participation in the single market could be granted under a model similar to that applied to European Economic Area states.
