Remarks by Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi at the joint press conference following the meeting of foreign ministers of the Visegrad Group and the Western Balkans

Prague, 27 February 2020

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Thank you very much.

First of all, it is always an honour to be in Prague, thank you very much Minister [of Foreign Affairs of Czechia, Tomáš Petříček] for having me, and thank you very much for the initiative to include me in this very important discussion that you have had. I think the timing was excellent, as you see we are now in the middle of a very important work and process that this Commission has launched.

Let me also underline the very important positive forces the Visegrad countries play in supporting the European project and the integration of the Western Balkans in the European Union. It is crucial to see their support as they have also gone through enlargement and I really praise their efforts. I hope to count on their support when it comes to the work in the Council.

As you have seen, it is a priority for this Commission to get the Western Balkans as close as possible to us and to get the Western Balkans in the European Union. The Western Balkans are not only our neighbourhood, they are in the heart of Europe. They are surrounded by us; surrounded by Members of the European Union, so it is our geostrategic interest to get this region into the European Union.

For this reason, we have been working from the day one to put this issue back on the table and try to mend things and re-dynamise the process for the region.  As you have seen from the first proposal we have made in this political work, we have a very firm, merit-based European prospect reinsured for the Western Balkans. Even if you look at the wording of the October European Council conclusions, you will find this confirmed and underlined. It is on that basis that this Commission is working.

We have designed our work in three strands. The first element you have already seen, that is the so-called methodology. ‘Methodology’ is a very Brussels-based wording, not very comprehensible. I understand that. I do excuse myself for that. You should take it as rather a list of principles around which we think the whole enlargement process should continue and should be handled and taken forward.

These four principles are principles that should work not only for the Western Balkans, but also for our Member States and for the European public as such. The first of four principles is credibility. It means that if they deliver, then we have to deliver. But it also means that delivery means that all the reforms that are necessary to become an EU Member State will have to be done and will have to be done in an irreversible way. It also means for us, on our side, that once we know that these reforms are done, we have to do our part, which is to make enlargement happen.

The second principle is that we want to dynamise the process by making it more political. More political meaning that our Member States should feel more ownership over the enlargement process. It means to involve the Western Balkans more into our own political processes. To show them the inner side of European policy making so that they know much better what is required, so that they feel involved in the evolution of European policy and European politics.

Because very often the criticism I have received and I might not be surprised to hear this in Prague, is that this is all just an administrative process, that the administrations are negotiating with one another and then at some point somebody will comment ‘look, they are ready, so we have to get them on board.’ And the public and the politics of the Member States have very little knowledge about it. We have to improve this. We want everybody to feel ownership over this process because it is our common interest to feel ownership over it.

Then we have dynamism as a principle. We want this process to be much more dynamic, meaning that if there is delivery, we have to also be able to move on our side faster. This is why we have designed the process in a different way, by grouping all the issues that belong together to be negotiated together. It means that, of course, we will have much broader overview of the general set of issues in the different countries.

And lastly, maybe more importantly, predictability. Predictability should mean that everybody should know what is required. Both the countries who would want to join, but also our Member States who are already looking at the process, we should all be able to tell when delivery is complete and we should all be objectively looking at the process. This is why we have to elaborate further on the criteria. And on the other hand, we also have to make it very clear that if there is no delivery, there is no delivery on our side. If there is backsliding, there is the possibility of reversing the process, reopening chapters, suspending financial support. We have to make things clear.

The second strand, which we are just about to embark on, is the opening of accession negotiations for North Macedonia and Albania. This is why we came up with the new methodology and this is why we discuss these issues, to get the accession negotiations off the ground and agreed by the Council – I hope very much in the coming weeks – to start the negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania.

We would try to have this process by updating our reporting on the two countries. This you will see arriving already early next week. What I can tell you about these reports is that there is serious progress in both countries. I am very encouraged by the fact that these two countries have chosen to accelerate their reforms instead of suspending them after the very negative message of October. They have engaged in a very meaningful way. You will also see from the reports the very down to earth results that these countries have managed to achieve in a very short period of time. With these reports, I do hope to convince the Member States that North Macedonia and Albania are ready. We should be also ready to open the negotiations.

Lastly, the third element of our political project is, of course, the Zagreb summit. I was, again, very glad to discuss with the Foreign Minister of Croatia [Gordan Grlić], holding the rotating presidency of the Council.  We agree, I think, that we need to put on the table a meaningful economic development and investment plan for the region, to bring the region much faster much closer to Europe. To help them build a much stronger, more resilient economy for themselves and to bring growth and jobs to the region. And that plan is for the entire region, not only for those countries who are negotiating. It is for all six countries, because we want to build a strong, resilient European Western Balkans and it starts from the economy.

Thank you.

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