EU considers expanding bloc amid geopolitical situation

The European Union's Enlargement Commissioner, Marta Kos, said today that the process of new member states joining the bloc had become "even more difficult" despite the war in Ukraine, which has forced member states to consider enlargement. She made the comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where she and the prime ministers of Croatia, Montenegro and Ukraine, two candidate countries for EU membership, debated the accession process in the face of Russia's war in Ukraine and the changing geopolitical situation in Europe.

European Union Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said on Wednesday that the criteria for admitting new members to the bloc, related to the rule of law, had become more complicated in the current context of a changing world.

"The methodology was changed in 2020. Montenegro and Ukraine know that the negotiation process for the rule of law chapter has become even more difficult. The last decade was neither good nor successful in terms of enlargement ," she said.

Commissioner Kos made these comments during a discussion at the World Economic Forum, which is taking place in Davos. Also taking part were the Foreign Minister of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of Montenegro, two countries aiming for EU membership, as well as Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.

The European Union last expanded more than a decade ago, welcoming Croatia as a member of the bloc in 2013.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that the war in Ukraine "changed" the entire situation, bringing countries like Moldova and Georgia closer to Brussels.

"Russia's aggression in Ukraine is an element that changed everything. Because of it, NATO member states fulfilled their promises to contribute 2 percent of their gross national product to defense. If this had not happened, defense spending would have been lower. That was the first change. Secondly, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia have moved from a category called neighboring countries, meaning countries that did not have the possibility of membership, to countries that were included in the list of those considered as part of the enlargement. It all happened during this period of two and a half years. If it were not for February 2022, we would be in a very different situation ," he said.

Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic said that this process is nevertheless for the benefit of countries aiming to become EU members.

"I do not think that the process of accession to the European Union is a competition. We are all trying to meet the essential conditions that the EU requires for our own good. We are not meeting these requirements because of the EU, but so that we can develop better, have an open and more functional market economy, have the rule of law and a fairer society, with more democratic institutions. We are trying to build a system ," said Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic.

But Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said it was important that European Union member states not "abuse" their veto power over the bloc's expansion with new members.

"It is important to prevent the abuse or misuse of the veto right by some EU members. For example, it is not right to publicly blackmail future members with the possibility of being blocked in the EU process. If we are talking about unity and the fact that we need this unity more than ever before, given the geopolitical challenges and brutal Russian aggression, then we need this unity," he said.

But EU officials have said the enlargement process should be based on merit, not geopolitical considerations. In a speech to the European Parliament, the new Enlargement Commissioner Kos said that EU enlargement should be acceptable to both existing and future member states, and should be based on the rule of law./VOA