By Jan Strupczewski
BRUSSELS, Sept 28 (Reuters) – The European Fee will shortly suggest that the EU give additional cash to international locations that wish to be part of and provide them entry to the one market to hurry up their membership preparations, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi mentioned.
Eight international locations presently have official EU candidate standing – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine – whereas two, Georgia and Kosovo, are potential candidate international locations.
The chair of European Union leaders, Charles Michel, has referred to as for the EU to be prepared to just accept new members, and for candidates to be prepared to fulfill the entry standards, by 2030.
“In a few weeks time you will note us presenting a brand new mind-set about enlargement and a bundle that can now embrace 10 candidate international locations, or international locations with a European perspective,” Varhelyi instructed a information convention.
“In that report we not solely wish to transfer ahead, however we wish to present the means for an accelerated integration,” he mentioned after a gathering in Spain of EU ministers, who debated how the EU ought to put together for admitting new members.
Varhelyi mentioned the EU would search to assist the candidates put together sooner for EU membership by means of a development plan for the Western Balkans to cut back the “financial and social hole” between these international locations and the remainder of the EU earlier than accession.
Underneath the scheme, the international locations would regularly get entry to the EU’s single market of 450 million shoppers, the place items, companies, labour and capital can transfer freely, even earlier than changing into full EU members.
“We wish to create the chance to regularly combine these international locations into the one market, into the 4 freedoms, already earlier than accession, as a result of this will probably be for the advantage of each the European Union and for the candidate international locations,” Varhelyi mentioned.
He mentioned the Fee proposal would additionally name for extra EU cash for the candidates to assist pace up reforms wanted to affix the now 27-nation bloc. Potential sums weren’t specified.
The cash would come on high of the EU’s present pre-accession help for candidate international locations, which within the 2021-2027 EU price range totals 14.2 billion euros ($14.98 billion).
The measures would show the EU was able to welcome new members and put the onus on the candidate international locations to make full use of those alternatives, Varhelyi mentioned.
($1 = 0.9479 euros) (Reporting by Jan Strupczewski Enhancing by Mark Potter)
