EU Sends to UK, Focuses on Balkans... Efforts to Expand Membership with New Accession Procedures

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Less than a week after the European Union (EU) parted ways with the United Kingdom, it has proposed a new procedure for admitting new member states. This is interpreted as an effort to appease France, which opposes the accession requests of Balkan countries, and to initiate discussions on EU enlargement.

According to the daily newspaper The Guardian and others on the 5th (local time), the EU Commission proposed new accession regulations that improve and strengthen the procedure for admitting new member states. In the proposed regulations, candidate countries for accession are required to revise their internal regulations to meet EU standards and complete fundamental reforms related to democratic institutions and the rule of law. The regulations also allow for the suspension of negotiations if these principles are violated.

This move is largely seen as a result of France's stance. Although Balkan countries wish to join the EU, opposition from member states centered around France has led to efforts to ease this resistance. At the EU summit in October last year, the accession of Albania and North Macedonia was discussed, but negotiations to start accession talks were blocked by France, Denmark, and the Netherlands. The reason cited was concerns about the credibility of the Balkan countries in fulfilling their commitments to the EU, given their ongoing struggles with crime and corruption.

However, some within the EU express concerns that if Balkan countries are not accepted, some strategically important countries in the Balkans might turn away and seek to improve relations with Russia or China. Especially in the context of the EU's separation from the UK, a core member state, there are voices emphasizing the need to accept Balkan countries to further strengthen international influence.

Oliver Varhelyi, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, said on the day, "Enlarging the EU to the Western Balkans is the Commission's top priority," adding, "Today, we propose concrete measures on how to improve the accession process." Commissioner Varhelyi also stated that enlargement is a "geopolitically based strategy" and aims to admit six Balkan countries: Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Bosnia.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, described the proposal as a "good signal" for North Macedonia and Albania, stating, "EU enlargement benefits both sides." The EU Commission hopes to approve this proposal along with the commencement of negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania ahead of the EU-Western Balkans summit scheduled for May. The EU has not admitted any new member states since Croatia joined in 2013.

Meanwhile, CNBC reported that the EU is also considering revising regulations on government spending. Through accounting regulations, the EU stipulates that member states' public debt should not exceed 60% of their annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and fiscal deficits should not exceed 3% of GDP. However, there is a division of opinion between northern and southern European countries on this matter. Southern countries argue that the regulations themselves are too complex to implement, while northern countries see the problem not in the regulations but in the lack of enforcement. Accordingly, think tanks, academia, and market participants are scheduled to hold discussions on the current European accounting regulations by the end of this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.