Denmark Assumes EU Presidency in Turbulent Times, Enlargement Among Priorities

EU flags (PHOTO: EUROPEAN UNION/Zucchi Enzo)

Denmark is taking over the presidency of the Council of the European Union during a turbulent period - for the world, for the 27-member bloc, and for candidate countries. One of Denmark’s priorities during its presidency will be EU enlargement, panelists said on June 30 at the panel debate “From Poland to Denmark: A Shared Path in Extraordinary Times.”

Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Emanuele Giaufret said that Poland had made “tremendous efforts in the enlargement process for the Western Balkans” during its presidency, which ends today, and added that he expects “the same level of commitment” from Denmark.

“The key question, of course, is to see whether Serbia will make progress. We would like to see improvements in the rule of law, media freedom, electoral reforms, and dialogue with Kosovo,” Giaufret said at the Europe House in Belgrade.

Danish Ambassador to Serbia Pernille Dahler Kardel emphasized that it is important for the EU to include both Ukraine and the Western Balkans in order to become stronger. “We will focus heavily on the enlargement process, as well as the competitiveness of the European market and the Green Agenda,” the ambassador said, adding that Denmark encourages all EU candidate countries to implement reforms.

Kamila Duda-Kawecka, charge d'affaires at the Polish Embassy, noted that while Poland achieved some successes during its presidency in terms of enlargement, not all goals had been met. She said Poland had higher expectations from negotiations with the Western Balkan countries.

Bojana Selakovic, coordinator of Serbia’s National Convention on the EU, said that Serbia’s political crisis was deepening and did not provide the level of stability necessary for reforms. She said it remained uncertain whether Cluster 3 in Serbia’s EU accession talks could be opened at this point.

Chairman of the Governing Board of the European Policy Centre Srdjan Majstorovic stated that the authorities refused to acknowledge the political crisis unfolding in the streets of Serbian cities. Under such circumstances, he said, further escalation of repression is a realistic expectation, and “a country in such a state cannot expect any progress in accession negotiations in the coming period.”