European Commission Proposed to Reform EU Admission Rules

Countries applying for EU membership should actively pursue reforms. Otherwise, they will face fines and a slowdown in accession negotiations. States that aspire to join the European Union must actively pursue the reforms prescribed by their agreements with Brussels. If the pace of their implementation is insufficient or the reforms stall, these countries face penalties. This stated the European Commission in its proposal on reforming the procedure for admitting new members to the EU, published on Wednesday. Now, a document entitled "Improving the Enlargement Process - Strong European Perspectives" should be discussed in the EU member states. French President proposes EU accession reform France, the Netherlands and Denmark blocked the EU’s decision to start negotiations on EU accession for Northern Macedonia and Albania on October 15, 2019, citing the lack of progress in the reform sphere in these countries. After that, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a fundamental reform of the EU membership process. In his opinion, only after such a reform will it be possible to return to the issue of EU membership prospect for the Balkan countries. The European Commission stands for a new methodology for negotiations on EU enlargement. It involves the division of 35 chapters of negotiations into 6 thematic groups. Each will have a separate negotiation phase. If the candidate country violates the conditions enshrined in the negotiations for any of the phases that have already been completed, the entry process will stop and should be restarted. Reforms stimulation, penalties for rollbacks and delays The document proposes the creation of additional incentives for candidate countries that show good results. Among them are increased funding if countries show progress in reforms, and close cooperation with international financial institutions to increase support. If the countries show a rollback or delays in carrying out the necessary reforms, this can lead to sanctions up to the cessation of financing, cancellation of access to EU programs and unilateral concessions in access to the EU markets. The European Commission proposal is planned to be discussed at the EU summit in Brussels in March. If approved, the new methodology will be applied to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Northern Macedonia. It will not affect Serbia and Montenegro, since these countries have already begun accession negotiations with Brussels. The EU’s goal is to encourage the Western Balkans to pursue democratic reforms, said Olivér Várhelyi, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy. “This is our geostrategic investment,” he stressed, pointing out that the close integration of these countries with the EU meets both the security interests and the economic interests of the European Union.