At a dinner last week attended by the chief of staff of the President of the European Commission, Bjoern Seibert, EU ambassadors were rejected possibility to allow new members with less privileges.
Kallas’ words give strong support to the idea that enlargement is not a bureaucratic process in which candidates meet EU criteria but a geographical choice – as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggested.
“Enlargement has been described as the most successful foreign policy of the union, expanding the area of stability, peace and prosperity,” Kallas said, citing. Eurobarometer data showing strong support for expanding the bloc to 27 members.
But, he added, “it’s up to us to continue telling the story of expansion.”
A senior EU diplomat, who did not want to be named to speak freely, said countries will do their best to keep the EU’s enlargement process on track, despite differences between the Council and the Commission.
Work is now underway to get the next three presidents of the Council of the European Union to consider bringing in new member states, with the goal of ending the Ukraine negotiations by the end of 2027, even if the accession treaty may take longer to complete.
The prospect of a public debate on Ukraine’s membership worries some EU leaders, who fear it could give ammunition to far-right political parties ahead of elections in France, Finland and other countries next year.
“You need to have a political explanation about Ukraine,” the EU’s top diplomat said.
