Down one country with the departure of Britain, the European Union’s executive proposed a new system for adding members in a move made all the more urgent by the recent objections to open enlargement talks with two Western Balkan nations.
The European Commission proposed on Wednesday to streamline rules to avoid further delaying the start of access negotiations when aspiring members have met the conditions for such talks.
“The purpose of today’s proposal is to reestablish a credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans,” EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday the proposal was a “good message” to North Macedonia and Albania, which both were desperately disappointed when they were turned down for opening talks in October.
There are worries that if the EU doesn’t open its arms for the warm embrace of membership, several nations in the strategically important Balkan region could turn its back and look for better relations with Russia and China right in the EU’s backyard. The bloc is already under pressure after losing the diplomatic and geopolitical clout of Britain, which left the bloc this weekend.
“EU enlargement is a WIN-WIN situation,” von der Leyen tweeted.
The issue has been especially contentious because even if Balkan nations look toward the 27-nation EU for their future, Western European nations want to slow any expansion for nations that may not be ready to take on full commitments on such issues as corruption and the rule of law.
Varhelyi said the proposed rules also included a big stick if and when aspiring member states veered away from democratic principles.
“We have to make it clear that we can also go backwards,” said Verhalyi, adding “that in our public opinion and in our member states there is a very strong call that we need to be able to reverse also the negotiations.”
North Macedonia and Albania were meant to be approved to start membership talks late last year, but especially France insisted on revamping the enlargement system first. The aspiring nations felt they were unfairly let down, convinced they had met the conditions, at great effort, to start the talks.
Now, North Macedonia’s initial reaction was positive.
“This renewed approach will result in a double victory in the coming weeks: opening negotiations together in an advanced process,” North Macedonia foreign minister Nikola Dimitrov said in a written statement.
The EU hasn’t added a member state since Croatia joined in 2013. It started out with six nations in 1958 and lost its first member states when Britain pulled out last weekend.
Over the past dozen years, as first the financial and then the migration crisis hit the continent, the appetite for taking in new, poorer nations has dwindled.
The EU is hoping that a breakthrough for Albania and North Macedonia can be found in March. The bloc also has a major Western Balkans summit planned for May.
Related Stories
‹

Britain’s Boris Johnson Resigning as PM Amid ScandalWritten by DANICA KIRKA, JILL LAWLESS and SYLVIA HUI Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation Thursday amid a mass revolt by top members of his government, marking an end to three tumultuous years in power in which he brazenly bent and sometimes broke the rules of British politics. Months of defiance ended almost with […]

British Surge Seen as Warning on Omicron but Responses VaryWritten by DANICA KIRKA and MIKE CORDER Spiraling infections in Britain driven in part by the new omicron variant of the coronavirus rattled many in Europe on Thursday, fueling a familiar dread that tighter restrictions will scuttle holiday plans again this year. Much remains unknown about omicron, but increasingly officials are warning that at the very least […]
![]()
Fishing, Northern Ireland: EU, UK Back to Brexit WranglingWritten by RAF CASERT and JILL LAWLESS It was late on Christmas Eve last year when the European Union and Britain finally clinched a Brexit trade deal after years of wrangling, threats and missed deadlines to seal their divorce. There was hope that now-separated Britain and the 27-nation bloc would sail their relationship toward calmer […]

Microsoft Exchange Hack Caused by China, US and Allies SayWritten by ERIC TUCKER The Biden administration and Western allies formally blamed China on Monday for a massive hack of Microsoft Exchange email server software and accused Beijing of working with criminal hackers in ransomware attacks and other cyber operations. The announcements, though not accompanied by sanctions against the Chinese government, were intended as a forceful condemnation […]
![]()
U.K. Warns of ‘Bumpy’ Post-Brexit Transition Despite DealFirst came the Brexit trade deal. Now comes the red tape and the institutional nitty gritty. Four days after sealing a free trade agreement with the European Union, the British government warned businesses to get ready for disruptions and “bumpy moments” when the new rules take effect on Thursday night. Businesses were scrambling Monday to […]
![]()
EU Says That No-Deal Brexit Becoming Ever More LikelyA top European Union official dealing with the United Kingdom said Tuesday that a cliff-edge rupture between the two without even a basic trade deal by the end of the year is becoming more likely by the day. European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic told the European Parliament that “time is short” to reach a […]
![]()
Johnson Hails ‘New Beginning’ for U.K. as Brexit Day ArrivesBritain begins the day as a member of the European Union. Its status at the end of the day — as a proud nation that has reclaimed its sovereignty, or a diminished presence in Europe and the world — will still be up for debate. Britain officially departs the EU at 11 p.m. local time […]
![]()
‘Confused And Angry’: Brexit Unsettles E.U. Citizens in the U.K.Anxious, angry, abandoned. Brexit elicits strong emotions, and as Britain’s departure from the European Union approaches, more than 3 million U.K. residents who are citizens of EU countries are feeling the impending separation more strongly than most. Brexit is a huge economic and social experiment, and the U.K.’s European residents are among the guinea pigs. […]
![]()
Britain Faces Most History-Shaping Election since WWIIBritain is facing the most testing and significant period in its modern history since World War II. The polarized electorate now has a critical choice to make — but it seems unlikely the result, whatever it may be, will heal deep and toxic divisions that could last a generation or more. The 20th century saw […]
![]()
Johnson Says He'll Tell Trump: Hands Off UK Health ServiceBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he’ll tell U.S. President Donald Trump that the U.K.’s state-funded health service will be off the table in any future trade negotiations, and that the U.S. will have to open its markets to British goods if it wants to make a deal. Johnson said he would draw his red […]
›
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines