"I am extremely honored to have the new role of rapporteur for the Western Balkans recommendations ahead of the upcoming summit in Zagreb. In co-operation with all Western Balkan countries and EU institutions, I will offer a set of concrete recommendations that will allow the removal of blockades and the final opening of negotiations with Northern Macedonia and Albania already in Zagreb. Also, the aim is to give new impetus to the enlargement process in this mandate of the EU institutions", said Tonino Picula, Croatian MEP.
"Making a mistake by blocking the opening of negotiations for Northern Macedonia and Albania, French President Emmanuel Macron blocked something he had not planned - he returned the issue of enlargement to the focus of the debate at European level. This was best seen in today's speech by the new President Von der Leyen, who in her address made it clear that the EU door remains open and highlighted the topic immediately at the beginning of her speech", Picula said.
Specifically, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen today said that the Western Balkans and the EU share a common history, culture, but also a common destiny, and that the EU's door to membership remains open. Von der Leyen highlighted this issue at the beginning of her address, even before the issue of transatlantic relations, the Green New Deal, gender equality and digitization. This is an encouraging message to the countries of the Western Balkans and an impetus to continue the reforms that have begun, as they have the support of Brussels: the European Parliament and the European Commission.
However, finding consensus in the Council remains a challenge and is one of the main topics that Picula will address in this report, which has the additional objective of analyzing and responding to new proposals for reform of enlargement policy.
"Debates on reform must not stop the process. Countries should be judged individually, based on individual merit and achievement. Montenegro, for example, is at the forefront of this process, and I expect that the results achieved and the efforts made will be acknowledged and the pre-accession negotiations closed during this term", Picula concluded.
To remind you, MEP Picula is the rapporteur for the European Parliament for the IPA III pre-accession assistance program,14.5 billion EUR, which negotiates with the Council and the Commission through trilogues. In addition, he is the Permanent Rapporteur of the European Parliament for Montenegro. This report is the third to work as a rapporteur in parallel. Adoption of the report is expected in March next year, ahead of the Zagreb summit in early May.
