Kaja Kallas: "Enlargement must not be bilateralised"
At the European Council in Brussels Kallas urged member states to keep enlargement a collective process and highlighted security gains from accession.
Kaja Kallas, the head of European diplomacy, told the European Council in Brussels that "enlargement must not be bilateralised", arguing the accession process should remain a collective endeavour rather than be handled through bilateral deals and blockades.
Collective process, not bilateral bargaining
Kallas warned that treating enlargement as a series of bilateral negotiations would weaken the Union's coherence. She said Europe is a small continent and that the bloc should grow stronger together with countries that belong to the European family.
She also recalled a meeting on Monday with foreign ministers, where, among other topics, they examined the security dimensions of enlargement. Kallas emphasised that one of the questions under consideration is what those candidate countries will contribute to the European Union's security once they become members.
The remarks came in the context of ongoing blockades and conditionality that affect candidate countries' accession paths. Kallas framed the debate as one about the strategic value of enlargement for the EU's cohesion and collective security.
Her intervention at the European Council reiterated a call for member states to handle accession matters through unified EU mechanisms and common rules rather than through isolated bilateral arrangements.
Photo: press material from the event
