Marta Kos has rejected the proposal from Aleksandar Vučić and Edi Rama, who called for the accelerated integration of candidate countries into the EU single market and the Schengen Area without obtaining veto rights, writes the European Western Balkans portal.
Namely, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, stated that she is not sure that Aleksandar Vučić and Edi Rama know how much they must achieve if they want to be part of Schengen.
“I am not sure if Vučić and Rama know how much they have to achieve if they want to be part of Schengen or the common market, and that the reform process is difficult for economic integration, as well as for EU membership,” Kos said in an interview with Politico yesterday.
She added that the European Commission has already presented three options (for enlargement policy) to the countries.
“And without the decisions of the member states, we cannot move further… The EU must change its rules to enable a new wave of countries joining,” Kos said.
Kos also called on EU member states that do not support the Commission’s ideas on enlargement to propose their own plans.
Euractiv recently reported, citing unofficial sources, that the European Commission is considering three main options for future enlargement policy – the first would mean the existing system remains unchanged, the second is so-called “gradual integration,” and the third is “phased,” or “reversible” integration.
As explained, “gradual integration” would mean candidate countries join a series of EU initiatives and programs but do not receive formal membership, while “phased integration” would mean countries receive fast, official membership and then continue to implement reforms.
“From the first exchange with the member states, it is clear that option number three is not right. That would be a revolution. Option number one, the status quo, is also not an option,” Kos emphasized.
As a reminder, in an interview for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Vučić and Rama called for the accelerated integration of candidate countries into the EU single market and the Schengen Area without receiving veto rights.
In a joint op-ed, Vučić and Rama stated that these countries would not have the right of veto within the EU and assessed that this would alleviate the concerns of those member states that are hesitant regarding a larger expansion of the Union.
“Many Europeans wonder whether the EU can continue to function effectively with significantly more members. Concerns about decision-making, institutional balance, and political cohesion are legitimate. Leaders in Paris, Berlin, and elsewhere point out that internal EU reforms might be necessary to ensure that an enlarged EU remains capable of decisive action,” Vučić and Rama stated.
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Source: Nova.rs; Photo: