Since the Russian president Vladimir Putin, I placed the order 20 months ago invade Ukraine Placing war at the heart of the European continent, expansion European Union It stopped being seen as conditional and became “when” and “how.” Twenty years after years of paralysis and the confirmation of the future of the EU at the Thessaloniki summit Western Balkans European leaders are putting their doubts aside and beginning to perceive membership as an “inevitable” step, an “asset” that will enhance and guarantee the club’s prosperity. security And stability It was lost in the Russian war. An expansion that would require reforms a process of internal reflection in new countries and at European level, which started this week in Granada. Informal summit of European leaders The EU is chaired by Spain.
The draft statement, available to EL PERIÓDICO from the Prensa Ibérica group, begins with the Twenty-Seven’s firm commitment: “In Granada, the beginning of the process “To determine the general political orientations and priorities of the Union for the coming years.” No one doubts that this will not be easy. The number of decisions taken in 27 is very small. However, if the EU wants to successfully carry out the enlargement process that the leaders define in the EU, the Conclusion text should include “peace, security, stability and With the phrase “a geostrategic investment in prosperity”, it is emphasized that internal reform is indispensable.
“To ensure the EU’s continued success, it is vital that we examine the future dynamics of our Union, our policies and decision-making mechanisms” and, in particular, “what are we doing together?” It is vital that we answer critical questions such as. The President of the European Council says: “How will we decide? How will we combine our means and our objectives?” Charles MichelIn a letter of invitation to a European meeting calling for determining the “route” the EU should follow in the coming years Go from 27 to 35 and even 37 Member States.
Starting the gun
This reflection, which the leaders will initiate in the Andalusian city, will be integrated into the project in the coming months. new strategic agenda 2024-2029. “Granada is a time to look back and critically evaluate progress, identify our achievements and areas that still require our political action. It is also a time to look forward, identify the challenges we will have to face in the future and define our goals.” strategy to take advantage of all opportunities in this field (…) changing geopolitical environment“The former Belgian Prime Minister explains on the eve of the meeting, which will start with the third meeting this Thursday: European Political CommunityDialogue platform launched in Prague last year to promote cooperation on the continent and fifty European leaders sit at his table.
But increasing from 27 countries to 35 countries and integrating their countries. Western Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova And Georgia– The European Union will first have to do its homework and prepare the ground at both political, institutional and budgetary levels, because a group of experts who came together to present their views, confirmed by France and Germany a few weeks ago, said: “The EU is neither institutional nor it is not politically ready to welcome new members, a conclusion shared by European governments who are aware that before we act we need to know “what we want to do together”, “how we will do it” and “how we will pay for it”.
new architecture
This means, first of all, changing the decision-making process to the sidelines. consensus And I bet who makes the decisions qualified majorityThus, the process becomes much more agile and a single or a few countries cannot block a decision or leave an entire continent hanging, as in recent years. Hungary. It’s a change that a dozen countries, including Spain, have been demanding for months. Adjustments will also be required at the institutional level, as new countries will mean more commissioners, more ministers at Council meetings and more MEPs in a 751-member parliament. Under current rules, Ukraine alone can aim to field between 50 and 60 MPs.
A. new enterprise architecture should come with radical budget changes. Common Agricultural Policy It currently takes up around €370,000 million, or 30% of the budget. The inclusion of Ukraine, with an arable area the size of Italy, into the equation would make it the main recipient of agricultural funds, ahead of France. A comeback that will deeply affect politics rapport and this would turn the majority of Member States receiving funds into net contributors. According to an internal Council study mentioned by ‘Financial Times’, the inclusion of Ukraine in the EU under current conditions would give Kiev access to a budget of $186 billion over seven years, bringing many Member States into the net for the first time. payers.
Another topic planned to be discussed in Granada is Asylum and Migration AgreementAfter this Wednesday the Twenty-Seven reached a political agreement on crisis regulation; This was the last piece to be agreed upon, and it was supposed to set out the measures to be taken in cases of mass immigration arrivals, such as those recently recorded. island italian lampedusa. Leaders will now need to open inter-institutional negotiations with the European Parliament with the aim of completing the deal before the end of the year.
European political community
Before delving into domestic issues this Friday, the 27 EU leaders will have the opportunity to meet again for the third time this Thursday with the countries of the European Political Community, a discussion platform created to maintain cooperation with other European countries at a “moderate level”. “Tectonic” moment for Europe. The format of the meeting will be similar to that of the two previous meetings held in Prague (Czech Republic) and Chisinau (Moldova). The meeting will begin with four working tables, two on multilateralism, another on energy and environment, and a fourth on digitalization and artificial intelligence, and a plenary meeting to be followed by bilateral meetings.
One of the bilateral meetings expected to be held face to face was the meeting planned to be held with the Prime Minister. ArmeniaNikol Pashinyan and the president AzerbaijanIlham Aliyev will try to move towards a peace agreement for the Nagorno-Karabakh region. But this Wednesday Aliyev poured cold water on canceling his trip to Granada. APA news agency pointed out that the decision of the Azerbaijani president was due to disagreements with Paris and Berlin, which allegedly opposed the participation of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the meeting.
Immediately after learning of Aliyev’s withdrawal, Erdogan also canceled his participation in the Granada meeting “due to the agenda”.