Members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs will quiz Oliver Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, on the future of the EU’s enlargement policy and the state of play in the countries covered by the Enlargement package.
Each year, the Commission adopts a set of documents that sets out the way forward and takes stock of reforms carried out in the EU candidate countries and potential candidates. Alongside Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Türkiye, for the first time, the package will also cover two new EU candidate countries, Ukraine and Moldova, as well as potential candidate Georgia.
Commissioner Várhelyi will also present the Commission’s new 6 billion euro Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. Pending the delivery of EU-related reforms, it aims to help the countries in the region to pursue their goals to integrate with the EU. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently visited all six countries covered by the Plan in order to present the details to government representatives and lawmakers.
When: Wednesday, 8 November, from 13.30 to 15.00 CET.
Where: European Parliament in Brussels, SPAAK building, room 3C050
You can follow the discussion live.
Background
North Macedonia and Albania formally started their accession negotiations with the EU in 2022, Montenegro and Serbia in 2012 and 2014 respectively, while talks with Türkiye are frozen. The EU granted candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine and Moldova in 2022 while setting additional requirements for Georgia to be able to receive the same status. The same year, Kosovo formally submitted an application for European Union membership.
The European Council is expected to make a decision on whether to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova and Ukraine at the EU summit in December.
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