EU enlargement, Council aligns with European Commission. Strong concern for Serbia, Turkey, and Georgia

Brussels –EU candidate countries have come under the magnifying glass of the EU General Affairs Council, which has approved its conclusions on enlargement. On Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Northern Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine, the European Commission had already published the EU enlargement package on 30 October, along with country reports, the progress of which has now been analyzed by the 27.

In general, in addition to reaffirming the commitment to enlargement, also in line with the EU Strategic Agenda for 2024–2029, the Council concurred with the EU executive’s conclusions regarding the candidate countries. Great importance is given to the Common Foreign and Security Policy (PESC), whereby no discounts are made to the candidates on the need for consistent and constant alignment with the EU and respect for human rights. All candidate countries are asked for commitment and consistent reforms in the State of Law. In essence, the need to comply with the criteria of enlargement, the so-called Copenhagen criteria, was reiterated by the 27 in order to achieve the community acquis, the heart of the rights and obligations underlying EU law.

For the PESC, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Moldova, and Ukraine are the countries that are demonstrating alignment with the EU. Despite this, there are still many areas where all candidates are limping, which are crucial to the rule of law, such as freedom of expression or protection of human rights.

Moldova, a standout, is progressing rapidly toward membership. It has consistently improved human rights and the protection of fundamental freedoms, as has Montenegro. 

In contrast, Albania remains backwards in freedom of expression and media access, as does Bosnia-Herzegovina, so there is no progress. Both countries are also struggling with human rights, as Albania is. The theory is good, less so the practice for North Macedonia, which, although it has included European integration as its strategic goal, is proceeding less convincingly on the changes that need to be made.

Turkey, as well as Serbia and Georgia, were in the “black book” of candidates already in the Commission’s conclusions. The first major problem is that all three countries are more shifted toward Moscow than is (slightly) tolerable by the EU, which is totally committed to supporting Ukraine, so there are no small divergences that even the Council points out, spurring for improvements.

The community acquis is a distant dream in states where respect for personal rights and fundamental freedoms are only abstract concepts. To Serbia, the Council calls for fulfilling commitments to normalize relations with Kosovo and to “demonstrate more political will by further accelerating reforms and delivering concrete and tangible results.”

“Persistent and deeply troubling situation in the area of democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights” for Turkey, which continues in its limbo as a country that would like to accede without ever resolving the issues that always keep it one step too far from Brussels, such as the Cyprus issue.  EU-Turkey coordination in migration issues is certainly remarkable, but the accession process has remained frozen since 2018, and the closeness between Putin and Erdogan further turns the EU’s nose up at it.

The political situation in Georgia is stormy. The victory of the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party, run by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, is of considerable concern to the EU despite the overt opposition of the Georgian population, which has a distinctly pro-European vocation. The positions of the Georgian government are distancing themselves sidereally from those of Europe, and strong regret is expressed over the decision “to suspend the country’s EU accession process until 2028.”

In Ukraine, the discourse is different. The country suffered from more than a thousand days of fighting on its territory after the Russian invasion, so the progress, even if small in some fields, has a different specific weight. Nevertheless, there are improvements even in the economic sector, where all the candidate countries are doing well overall.

Ahead of the Summit of the Western Balkan leaders with the European Council, although it has been reiterated that there will be no talk of enlargement,  the leaders of the 27 put their message in black and white. In addition to observing progress and monitoring it closely, the Council calls for accountability “and (that partners, ed.) demonstrate the credibility of their commitments and of their political will through the implementation of necessary reforms and tangible progress.”