TIRANA, August 29 – Prime Minister Edi Rama has reacted after the rejection by the European Commission of the target that the European Council President, Charles Michel proposed for the expansion of the European Union at the Bled summit in Slovenia on Monday.
The European Commission on Tuesday dropped Charles Michel’s EU enlargement target by setting 2030 as the timeline, backing away from his statements that the bloc should be ready to accept new members in 2030.
In his comment on this clash between two bodies of the EU Rama said in a post on Twitter on Tuesday that’s why the bus can never become a plane.
“Anyhow trust me, at the present state of affairs standing in the EU bus even without a seat is safer than sitting in a Russian plane, because the trip may be too slow and our destination too far, but one thing is sure like death: This bus will never crash,” said Rama.
The deputy spokeswoman for the European Commission Dana Spinant said in a press conference on Tuesday, “We are not focused on a date, but focused on working very closely with candidate countries to get ready for joining the European Union”.
She added that Michel had not consulted Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about the content of his enlargement speech Monday at a summit in Bled, Slovenia.
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron suggested a “multi-speed” EU regarding accession of candidate countries. Some Balkan nations have been waiting years to join the EU; under the legal framework, they must fulfill a number of requirements before this becomes possible.
EU leaders will dedicate themselves to this topic at an upcoming summit in October as the war in Ukraine has reenergized the debate on the bloc’s expansion. Eight countries are waiting in the wings – including Ukraine and Moldova, which were granted candidate status last year – with pressure building to open accession talks for Ukraine by the end of this year.
Spinant insisted that enlargement is a “merit-based process,” and that candidate countries should only be allowed to join once they fulfill the EU’s entry criteria in a clear denial of the promise made by the chief of the European Council. /argumentum.al
