On November 8, the European Commission will publish a report on the progress of EU accession candidates with a recommendation to start negotiations on the accession of Moldova and Ukraine to the bloc.
This is reported by Politico. The publication notes that Western countries, including Germany, France, Spain and Portugal, are increasing pressure on the need to reform the EU. At the same time, leaders are preparing to start formal accession talks with Moldova and Ukraine next month. Thus, Western leaders fear that without further steps toward reform, but with momentum for accession, the EU could "bloat" to 30 or more member states without any coherent plan for effective functioning. Work is now underway to formulate joint reform proposals, officials from the four states told the publication. Two officials in Berlin said that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will host colleagues from the EU and candidate countries on Thursday, November 2, to work on such proposals. "EU reform comes just days before the Commission will publish its report on November 8 on the progress of Ukraine, Moldova and other countries seeking EU membership," Politico wrote, citing sources. In that document, EU officials and diplomats told reporters, Brussels will recommend that Ukraine and Moldova begin accession talks - subject to "technical" clauses in which countries need to make more progress, from establishing a strong and independent judiciary to protecting minority rights and implementing anti-corruption measures. "These will not be small caveats, but big ones. This will not be the first time Brussels masks important political consequences under technical details," the French official warned. // 01.11.2023 – InfoMarket
