The lines are moving for the European Union, and its borders could soon be redrawn. It has gradually expanded since 1973 and now has nine official candidate countries in its antechamber: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Turkey, Serbia, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Moldova, and since yesterday, Georgia.
Among them, Ukraine and Moldova, for which the Twenty-Seven decided on Thursday, December 14, to open accession negotiations. The start of these negotiations is in reality the start of a long – several years – and complex process. Georgia obtained the candidate status that it had submitted shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on February 24, 2022. An approach viewed very negatively by Moscow. After an initial refusal in 2022, Brussels again granted this candidate status to Tbilisi on Thursday.
Interrupted negotiations, potential candidates and partnerships…
Bosnia, for its part, obtained this status on December 15, 2022, but has not started negotiations. Four other Western Balkan countries are officially candidates, but stuck for years in the EU’s antechamber: North Macedonia (2005), Montenegro (2010), Serbia (2012) and Albania (2014) .
Against a backdrop of tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, the EU reaffirmed in October 2023 at a summit in Tirana its attachment to the enlargement process in favor of the Western Balkans. But the date of 2030, mentioned several times, is not rigid, warned Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. Kosovo, another former republic of the Federation of Yugoslavia, submitted its application for candidate status in December 2022.
Turkey, a candidate since 1999, began negotiations for its membership in 2005. But they have remained frozen since 2018. The country’s relations with the EU have deteriorated sharply since 2016, due in particular to President Erdogan’s relentless repression after a coup attempt. Some states, such as Austria, are calling for the process to be formally interrupted.
The EU also launched an Eastern Partnership in 2009 with Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Belarus, offering closer economic and political relations in exchange for reforms. Belarus of President Lukashenko, an ally of Moscow, suspended its participation in June 2021.
Long and complicated negotiations
The examination of kyiv’s candidacy was unprecedentedly rapid, an emergency due to the war led by Russia and which is part of the support provided by Europeans to Ukraine. But membership follows a complex process, which generally takes several years. If Finland was integrated in less than four years, the three Baltic countries had to wait almost nine years.
Once the status of candidate state is recognized, the opening of official negotiations must also be approved unanimously. On Thursday, Hungary abstained for Ukraine, its Prime Minister said. For example, negotiations were only opened in July 2022 with Albania and North Macedonia.
A unanimous vote by the European Council (Member States) is also necessary at each stage of the negotiations, which cover various themes: free movement, justice, liberty, security, customs union, taxation, agriculture, environment, etc.