EU seeks to expand to six Balkan states with new reforms, Commissioner says
FILE PHOTO: European Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner-designate Oliver Varhelyi of Hungary speaks during his hearing before the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, November 14, 2019. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
Varhelyi was unveiling a new methodology for admitting new members, aimed at mollifying France’s concerns about letting the six countries into the EU. He said enlargement was “geo-strategic”, a reference to a view that the bloc cannot stem its waning global influence without stabilizing the Balkans. “EU membership is offered to the entire region, including Kosovo,” Varhelyi said of the country that declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move not recognized by five of the 27 EU’s members including Spain.
The EU executive hopes to persuade France to lift its objections before a Zagreb summit with the Balkan states in May. The reforms outlined on Wednesday would give existing EU members the power to pause the process of admitting new nations, or even force countries to restart entry talks in some policy areas.
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