Commission adopts 2023 Enlargement package, recommends to open negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, to grant candidate status to Georgia and to open accession negotiations with BiH, once the necessary degree of compliance is achieved
Commission adopts 2023 Enlargement package, recommends to open negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, to grant candidate status to Georgia and to open accession negotiations with BiH, once the necessary degree of compliance is achieved.
Read full story: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_5633
Türkiye Highlights
Türkiye remains a key partner for the European Union and a candidate country, but accession negotiations remain at a standstill since 2018, in line with the decision of the European Council. The country has not reversed the negative trend of moving away from the European Union, and it pursued accession related reforms to a limited degree. Cooperation with Türkiye in areas of joint interest continued in essential areas such as counter-terrorism, economy, energy, food security, migration and transport. Türkiye needs to take decisive steps to significantly improve alignment with the EU's CFSP and step up cooperation on preventing and detecting circumvention of restrictive measures. Following the tasking by the European Council, the High Representative and the Commission will submit in November a report to the Council on the state of play of EU-Türkiye relations, building on the instruments and options identified by the European Council and with a view to proceeding in a strategic and forward-looking manner.
Related dcouments: MEMO; Report; Country factsheet
Quotes:
Enlargement is a vital policy for the European Union. Completing our Union is the natural horizon of our Union. Completing our Union, also has a strong economic and geopolitical logic in this very moment. Past enlargements have shown the enormous benefits both for the accession countries and the EU. We all win.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
This is a historic Enlargement Package, for the first time with our 10 closest partners lined up for EU membership. Completing our Union is the best investment in peace, security and prosperity for our continent and this year’s package sets out major steps forward. EU membership is a strategic choice and alignment with the EU’s common foreign and security policy is a more significant signal than ever of shared values and strategic orientation.
High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell
These ten reports confirm that EU enlargement is firmly back on the agenda. Enlargement is our geopolitical project for Europe. To grasp this new geopolitical momentum, we must accelerate the enlargement process that will continue to be driven by credible reforms on the fundamentals. In the last months, we have seen the significant results achieved by Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, which clearly show that commitment and determination pay off. As we are increasing our engagement with the region in the following months, all our partners must focus on the required reforms, which are clearly outlined in our Enlargement Reports, so that we can provide a good assessment for the Council taking the next decisions.