Members of the European Parliament have approved a strategy for the enlargement of the European Union, which states that enlargement is a strategic response to changing geopolitical realities and an investment in the security and stability of the European bloc.
According to the document adopted on March 11, the cost of non-enlargement would exceed the cost of new countries joining the EU, and would risk creating geopolitical gray areas vulnerable to antagonistic foreign influence.
385 MPs voted for the strategy, 147 were against and 98 abstained.
The author of the document, MEP Petras Austrevicius, said that given today's challenges, the EU integration model should be improved in order to better reflect the EU's interests and the expectations of candidate countries.
"EU enlargement must go hand in hand with internal reforms to safeguard the functioning of the EU and improve decision-making processes, including by making greater use of qualified majority voting. The EU must complete these reforms by the time the candidate countries meet the membership criteria and are ready to join the EU," said MEP Austrevicius.
According to the approved document, Albania and Montenegro have already set ambitious targets for completing membership negotiations by 2026-2027.
Kosovo has applied for membership in the European Union in 2022, but its application has not yet been reviewed.
Thus, it is the only one in the Western Balkans that does not enjoy the status of a candidate country.
When Kosovo is mentioned in the report, it emphasizes the importance of its dialogue with Serbia for advancing on the path towards membership.
Among other things, the report calls for membership negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova to begin as soon as possible and for no country to be treated as part of a package.
"The rule of law, democratic reforms, media freedom, minority rights, judicial independence and the fight against corruption must remain at the top of the priorities of the enlargement process, with sustained support for civil society," the document states.
He also underlines the necessity of alignment with the EU's common foreign and security policy, which is considered "a key indicator of the candidate country's geostrategic orientation".
In this regard, Serbia has often been criticized for its foreign policy being inconsistent with that of the bloc, as it is the only country in the Balkans that has not sanctioned Russia for starting the war in Ukraine.
Before the vote on this report, a debate was held in the European Parliament, in which EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos also participated, who said that the EU will not allow the membership of countries that could secretly undermine EU values or institutions.
"There are no Trojan horses. Countries that would undermine us from within cannot become EU members. We must be absolutely sure of this. Countries that join the EU must be strong democracies and capable of resisting the toxic influence of Russia and others," Kos said, among other things.
The European Union last expanded in 2013, with the accession of Croatia. /rel
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