Higher quality reception

The European Union’s new approach to this community’s future enlargement may be characterized as quality over quantity. On Dec. 15, the leaders of the EU countries defined their attitude to the policy concerning this question at the annual summit in Brussels.

“The speed of enlargement should consider the Union’s ability to integrate new members,” the EU leaders’ joint statement emphasizes. Before its new expansion gets underway, not only the EU must guarantee that the community is functioning effectively and can move on. Candidates too must accomplish all the duties connected with their entry into the EU.

This means the qualitative improvement of the process of admitting new countries to the European Union. “We will raise the quality of the admission process,” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso stated at a press conference in Brussels. He said that discussions concerning the quality of the negotiation process (with country-candidates or aspirants to EU membership) were held.

Matti Vanhanen, the prime minister of Finland, the current EU president, stated that the process of enlargement of this regional organization is not yet frozen. “At issue here is the necessity of maintaining the criteria (by candidates and aspirants). We are neither raising any new obstacles nor closing the door,” Vanhanen said. The majority of the summit participants think that such an approach will allow time for carrying out the reform of the EU’s main institutions.

The EU leaders also supported the decision to put a partial stop to the negotiations on Turkey’s entry. They say that Ankara must completely meet all the necessary criteria before Turkey will be able to join the EU.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2007, the EU will consist of 27 countries, not 25. At the summit the EU leaders cordially welcomed Bulgaria and Romania as the latest members to join the EU. The summit participants think that their membership represents the successful completion of the fifth EU enlargement process. The Eurocommunity can potentially expand to 34 members. Croatia’s entry into the EU is forecast by 2010, and Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Serbia are expected to join later. Turkey will be able to join the EU in 10 to 15 years, or later.

What does the current EU summit mean for Ukraine? Which tasks should Kyiv assign itself in the light of this summit’s decisions? Below, a foreign expert explains.

COMMENTARIES

Michael EMERSON, leading expert of the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)

“This summit will not bring anything for Ukraine. Right now, fundamental debates are taking place in the EU among those who want Eurocommunity enlargement to be more open and those who support wider restrictions concerning the EU’s future enlargement. For example, at this time there are those who support Ukraine’s membership in the EU and those who are against it. These differences will not be resolved today. This is a question of the distant future and of understanding what political changes may take place in the EU and Ukraine in the next 10 or 15 years. If one speaks seriously about Ukraine, its turn will come in 2020. And this will not depend on who will be the president of the EU then. At least 10 years will pass until the next enlargement step takes place, which will include the Balkan countries and Turkey. Now it is thought that Ukraine is far behind Turkey. As for the enlargement strategy, the majority of the Eurocommunity’s members are in favor of keeping the doors open for any European democratic state. There is also a suggestion on the part of some EU members to establish the definitive borders of Europe. This idea would exclude Ukraine’s membership in the EU. I think that this proposal will be declined and the majority of the countries will not support it. But the EU’s doors will remain open to Ukraine. As for those countries that oppose enlargement, the most ardent defenders of limiting enlargement are France, Austria and possibly Belgium.”