Kos: Big Day for EU Enlargement Process

Marta Kos (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said on June 15, ahead of a meeting of the European Union’s foreign ministers in Luxembourg, that it’s a “big day for the enlargement process,” with accession negotiations opening with Ukraine and Moldova and Montenegro closing two more negotiating chapters.

Kos said Montenegro is closing another two chapters, bringing the total number of closed chapters to 16, “which is roughly half of what it needs to do.” “If we all do our jobs properly - by that I mean the Commission, Montenegro, of course, and the member states - we could complete the process during the Irish Presidency, or by the end of it, and bring Montenegro to the finish line,” The EU enlargement commissioner was optimistic.

Kos said the accession treaty with Montenegro, which was currently being drafted, would contain mechanisms to ensure “that new members, once they join the Union, continue to comply with European rules five, 10 or 15 years after accession.” Commenting on proposals for forms of membership falling short of full membership, Kos said it’s important for the issue to be discussed, but underlined that there is no such thing as partial EU membership and that full membership will  be possible only once candidate countries had met all the requirements, adding that two very important principles are now under discussion. The first is the merit-based principle, under which countries advance according to the results they achieved, while the second concerns the many opportunities offered by gradual integration. “We are currently looking at how to further strengthen that part of the accession process,” she explained.