“You cannot maintain relations with Russia or maintain contacts as if nothing had happened and expect your country to be part of the EU. It’s one thing or another.” This was the warning of the High Representative, Josep Borrell, to the Eastern countries who are on the waiting list to join the community club, during the presentation of the latest report evaluation after the impetus that the enlargement process received with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Removing these countries – Moldova, Georgia or the Western Balkans – from Moscow’s orbit is one of the objectives of. the EU’s eastward growth, beyond the benefits that a larger single market could bring.
And this process is fraught with threats, precisely because of the alignment of some governments and societies of these countries with Russia. Lately, the news for Brussels has not been good in this regard. In Georgia, where a pro-Russian party governs, elections were held and this party won again. The EU, with the exception of the far-right Viktor Orbán, demanded transparency and that the “irregularities” that occurred in last Saturday’s elections be clarified, assuring the European Commission that there had been Russian interference “unprecedented” in disinformation and “harsh anti-European rhetoric.”
In December 2023, Georgia obtained the status of a candidate country to join the community club, like Ukraine and Moldova, but the process is “de facto paralyzed”. Among Brussels’ demands is the withdrawal of the law on foreign agents, which will facilitate the persecution of the opposition and NGOs.
Russian interference also took place in Moldova’s elections, according to that country’s government and the European Commission. The elections took place at the same time as a referendum aimed at including the country’s entry into the European Union as a national objective in the country’s Constitution. The “yes” vote won by a small margin (50.39% of the votes), despite the harmony that the president, Maia Sandu, demonstrated with European leaders and the gestures of the European Commission towards this country, which, just before the elections, filled with 1.8 billion euros.
Concerns about pro-Russian positions also exist in the case of Serbia, as the European Commission states in writing in its report. “After Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Serbia aligned itself with some EU positions in international forums (including the UN General Assembly). Serbia continued to cooperate with the EU to circumvent sanctions and provide financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. However, it still does not align with the restrictive measures against the Russian Federation and does not align with the majority of EU positions on the issue. “It has maintained high-level relations with the Russian Federation and intensified its relations with China, which raises questions about Serbia’s strategic direction,” says the document in which the European Commission pushes this country to “gradually” align with the EU. foreign policy.
The warning is not trivial considering that Hungarian far-right Viktor Orbán has become the EU’s biggest headache by blocking virtually all Ukraine-related foreign policy initiatives that require the unanimity of the Member States. In fact, one of the issues on the table in the complex expansion process is changing the community club’s own operating rules to eliminate this requirement. Orbán’s latest challenge took place precisely this week, when he visited Tibilisi after the elections in Georgia, thus distancing himself from the position of the rest of the partners, who framed their visit in the bilateral relations of these two countries.
As in the case of Moldova, the European Commission assures that negotiations with Ukraine are “progressing without setbacks”. However, the process of joining the EU is complex, requires great efforts to adapt all the regulations of the candidate countries to the Community acquis and is a process that takes decades. “The opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine represented an important recognition of the determination of this country to continue reforms on the path to accession to the EU”, affirms the Community government, which recalls that the Negotiations on specific points will begin in 2025.
In the case of Albania, which is one of the countries that have been on the waiting list for the longest time, the European Commission considers it “crucial that the authorities continue to intensify the pace of reforms oriented towards the EU , especially with regard to the State. of law, consolidating the record in enforcing the law, effectively combating corruption and organized crime, and promoting fundamental rights, including media freedom, property and minority rights. “In the case of North Macedonia, the country must continue to make progress in implementing EU-related reforms, especially in the area of fundamental aspects, including the judicial system, the fight against corruption and the organized crime. It is necessary to strengthen confidence in the judicial system,” he emphasizes.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina has demonstrated tangible results, including migration management, full alignment with the EU’s common and foreign security policy, as well as the adoption of legislation on the integrity of the judiciary , the fight against money laundering and conflicts of interest. In March 2024, the European Council decided to start accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Commission is preparing the negotiation framework with a view to its adoption by the Council when all the relevant steps established in the Commission recommendation of October 2022 have been completed,” indicates the Community government.
“Kosovo has submitted an application for EU membership in December 2022. The Commission remains ready to prepare an opinion on Kosovo’s application for membership as soon as the Council requests it. Progress has been made in the fight against organized crime and the business environment has improved. Visa liberalization for Kosovo entered into force on January 1, 2024. Kosovo must step up its efforts to strengthen the rule of law and public administration and protect freedom of expression,” summarizes Brussels about this country , which experiences an additional complication in the process because there are countries, such as Spain, that do not recognize it.
In the case of Turkey, which applied to join in 1987, the process has been virtually paralyzed since 1987. Borrell admitted that there had been a “negative spiral” that required “a lot of work” in recent years, but that progress has been made collaboratively on some issues, such as migration. “Serious concerns remain in the areas of fundamental rights and the rule of law, including the independence of the judiciary. Dialogue on the rule of law and fundamental rights remains an integral part of EU-Turkey relations. Following the strategic orientation of the European Council of April 2024, relations with Turkey have been characterized by a gradual resumption of contacts and concrete steps have been taken towards constructive exchanges on issues of common interest,” indicates the community executive.
