BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wants to make the European Union (EU) geopolitically future-proof with far-reaching reforms, even in view of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. “Right now we need strength to swim together against this maelstrom of crises,” said the Green politician on Thursday at a conference with numerous European foreign and European ministers on the expansion of the EU in Berlin. The EU should draw up a roadmap with which key reforms should be implemented during the next legislative period of the European Parliament, also against the background of the EU enlargement debate. The next European Parliament will be elected in Germany on June 9th next year.
Baerbock praised that with a united response to the Russian war of aggression, the EU had “accomplished a huge foreign policy achievement.” At the same time, however, she criticized the fact that after the terrorist attack on Israel by the Islamist Hamas there had been “different perspectives and different roles” on important issues. It wasn’t always easy to find a common language. In view of this, she demanded: “It is clear to all of us: We Europeans will only be able to assert ourselves in this world if we stand together.” That’s why “the big European question of this time is not whether, but how we should make the Union stronger.”
On November 8th, the EU Commission plans to present reports on the reform progress of the EU accession candidates Ukraine and Moldova. Based on the reports, the heads of state and government of the EU states are to decide in December whether accession negotiations can be started with Ukraine and Moldova and whether Georgia will be granted accession candidate status. The EU Commission also wants to present assessments of the progress of the Western Balkans and Turkey on their way to the European Union.
The EU is also conducting accession negotiations with the Balkan states of Montenegro, Albania, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and North Macedonia. In addition to Ukraine and Moldova, Kosovo as well as Georgia and Turkey are also applicant countries. There have already been long accession negotiations with Turkey. However, due to constitutional deficits, these have been on hold for years./bk/DP/mis