EU enlargement finally moves away from deadlock

The European Parliament’s plenary session debated today the conclusions of the European Council of 23-24 June 2022. Fidesz MEPs Kinga Gál and Andrea Bocskor said that in the current geopolitical situation, the EU’s primary interest is to maintain peace in its neighbourhood and the stability and security of the Western Balkans, and therefore enlargement must be given a new impetus.

“The enlargement process has received a new impetus with the symbolic step of granting candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova. Everything must be done to achieve peace in the region, and candidacy must be considered on the basis of the same values and conditions. Thus, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia should have been granted candidate status as well, the stalled accession negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro should be sped up, and those with Albania and North Macedonia should be opened as soon as possible. Furthermore, the issue of visa liberalisation for Kosovo cannot be postponed any further”, said MEP Kinga Gál.

In the current geopolitical situation, the EU’s primary interest is the stability and security of the Western Balkans, especially now, with the increasing illegal migration pressure in the region. Food shortages could also further increase this pressure. The countries of the region must not be left to the influence of third countries, and concrete positive decisions on the Western Balkans must be taken as soon as possible, MEP Gál added.

MEP Andrea Bocskor pointed out that “Ukraine’s candidacy is an important political message, but it does not yet mean actual membership; there is still a lot of work to be done. One of the conditions for this is to respect the rights of national minorities living in the country, to guarantee their language and education rights, and to create a new law on minorities”.

“The Hungarians of Transcarpathia have always been loyal citizens of Ukraine and have supported EU integration, so I am confident that Ukraine’s candidacy for EU membership will also help improve the rights of the Transcarpathian Hungarians”, MEP Bocskor added.