New German-French non-paper for the Western Balkans and Moldova ready

(Patria) - The countries of the Western Balkans and Moldova should be more involved in the daily work of the EU as they progress in domestic reforms, according to a new joint proposal by Germany and France, prepared for the EU-Western Balkans summit taking place today in Tivat, which N1 has seen.

The document elaborates in more detail on ideas put forward last month by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who proposed granting Ukraine associate membership in the EU, European media report.

“We must provide additional incentives within the gradual, merit-based integration process and simplify the existing process to make it more efficient and enable faster and deeper integration,” the Franco-German non-paper states.

The new idea is to establish a set of “building blocks” for countries waiting in the EU’s antechamber, so that candidate countries are included in certain areas of EU work while implementing reforms, while the entire process remains “reversible,” i.e., suspended in case of backsliding on reforms.

The document envisions that representatives of the Western Balkans and Moldova hold joint meetings twice a year with commissioners and MEPs, and that members of the European Parliament meet more regularly with members of national parliaments from the Western Balkans and Moldova.

The Franco-German non-paper also proposes that leaders and ministers of candidate countries participate in certain agenda items of informal meetings of the Council of the EU and the European Council. Participation in specific agenda items of the Council of the EU as observers, without voting rights, would be conditional on closing relevant chapters in the accession process.

The non-paper proposes that only those countries that have provisionally closed Chapter 31, which concerns foreign, security and defence policy, may participate in specific agenda items of the Foreign Affairs Council meetings as observers, without voting rights.

The same condition would apply to enhanced cooperation in the area of security and defence, including security and defence partnerships, PESCO projects, Frontex, the EU Agency for Cybersecurity, and the EU Cyber Early Warning System.

The Franco-German proposal also envisions inclusion in EU programmes such as Creative Europe, Digital Europe and Erasmus+, as well as greater integration into Horizon Europe, the EU’s research programme.

One of the key proposals is deeper integration of the Western Balkans and Moldova into the EU single market, from the SEPA system, roaming and the Transport Community, to energy markets, the Emissions Trading System, the digital single market, critical raw materials and agreements on sanitary and phytosanitary measures.

The non-paper also proposes that full participation in the single market be granted on the model of the European Economic Area plus, subject to conditions related to the adoption and implementation of the EU acquis.

“We call on the European Commission to present proposals to facilitate the gradual integration of candidate countries on their path to EU accession,” the document states.