Marta Kos at Bled: EU must show unity and readiness for enlargement

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos urged member states to send an unmistakable signal that the Union is serious and ready to proceed with enlargement, speaking today at the Bled Strategic Forum.

"Enlargement or marginalisation?"

On a panel titled "Enlargement or marginalisation?", Kos said candidate countries must meet accession conditions, but European leaders also have an obligation to show political readiness to back enlargement. "Of course, the candidate countries must first fulfil the conditions for membership. Enlargement will work on the basis of achieved results, but European leaders must also be ready to support enlargement. At the same time, leaders of member states must explain domestically why this process is important, because we also need to talk about the fact that there is fear of enlargement among member states," she said.

The forum brought together officials from the Western Balkans and EU capitals. Montenegro’s foreign minister Ervin Ibrahimović argued that the war in Ukraine underlined that enlargement is not only about reforms but also about security. Montenegro, alongside Albania, has made the most progress in accession talks and aims to complete negotiations with Brussels by the end of the year.

Albania’s foreign minister Ferit Hoxha warned that the credibility of enlargement depends on results on both sides: "That would be the true signal to states that EU membership awaits them after they meet the conditions. Enlargement is a two-way process — both candidate countries and the EU must finish their domestic homework, which would lose credibility in the event of another stalemate," he said.

Slovenia’s state secretary for European affairs, Tamara Vajngerl Požar, said Ljubljana will remain a strong supporter of enlargement, emphasizing equal treatment and conditionality for Western Balkans countries, Ukraine and Moldova. A representative of the German Foreign Ministry, Natali Kauter, added that the coming weeks and months will be crucial, ahead of the EU summit in October and the publication of the annual enlargement report. "Our task is to convince Europeans that enlargement is not just important for the Western Balkans, but is in the national interest of all member states," she said, warning that failure would carry heavy costs not only for the region but for the EU as a whole.

Photo: Принтскрин