The G12, with experts convened by the French and German governments, concluded that the EU was “not yet ready” for enlargement and must undertake “fundamental reforms,” protect the rule of law, and review treaties.
This position is contained in a report issued today in Brussels, which Lusa viewed, in which the 12 experts indicated that the European Union “is not yet ready to welcome new members, neither at the institutional level nor at the political level.”
The French-German document stressed that the European project “faces a critical situation characterized by geopolitical changes, transnational crises, and internal complexities,” explaining “the complexity in harmonizing the visions of various member states.” Recommending a “flexible process for reform and enlargement of the European Union.”“.
To achieve this, these experts call for “immediate action to improve the functions of the European Union, – Proposing a list of initial measures before the next European elections“.
They stress that the most important reforms – including preparations to review the treaty – should be implemented during the new legislative period, from 2024 to 2029.
Specifically, the 12 experts propose an intergovernmental conference or a simplified review of treaties, external political cooperation through the European Political Community and even the organization of negotiations for flood management, which should “Both parties should be ready by 2030“.
At the same time, they recommend protecting the rule of law,”A non-negotiable constitutional principle of the functioning of the European Union“, while strengthening budget conditions to ensure that all countries respect them, which should be done by amending Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union.
Moreover, experts argue that we must “respond to institutional challenges”, through a new system for allocating places in institutions, moving from consensus to qualified majority voting on some matters, harmonizing electoral laws in member states with European elections, and political reforms. Agreements between the European Parliament and the Council, more civic engagement tools, new anti-corruption measures, judicial dialogue, Financial means to respond to crises and new syndicated debt issues.
In mid-2022, The European Union member states adopted a historic decision to grant candidate status to Ukraine and MoldovaWhich joined a large group of countries, some of which have been on the waiting list to join the European bloc for a long time, without achieving any progress in recent years.
This list now consists of Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, North Macedonia, Albania, Ukraine, Moldova, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Enlargement is the process through which countries then join the European Union Meet political and economic requirements.
Any European country that respects societal democratic values and is committed to promoting them can apply for EU membership, but in order to do so, it must undergo a formal negotiation process (which can only be agreed by consensus among current members). Member States), followed by implementing the necessary judicial, administrative and economic reforms.
The Council, in its general affairs configuration, establishes and supervises the EU enlargement process and accession negotiations, and acts by consensus.
The 12 experts in the field of European affairs who signed the Franco-German report are Olivier Costa, Daniela Schwarzer, Gilles Gressani, Gael Marty, Franz Mayer, Thu Nguyen, Nikolai von Onderza, Sofia Russak, Funda Tekin, Sahin Vali and Christine Verger. .
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