EU ‘Must Deliver’ on Enlargement, Christodoulides Says

“Enlargement falls within the European Union’s political range and we must do much more. We must succeed,” he said upon his arrival at the day’s European Council summit in Brussels.

His comments come with Cyprus set to take over the Council of the EU’s rotating presidency at the beginning of the month, with a draft programme for Cyprus’ six-month term as the title’s holder seen by the Cyprus Mail focusing on the matter of enlargement. 

“Enlargement is a geopolitical investment and a necessity in preserving peace, security and stability of our continent and beyond. It is also a driver for improving the economic and social conditions of our union and its citizens, through the expansion and strengthening of the internal market,” the programme states.

It adds that “an enlarged union will be stronger and more prosperous, fostering the values and principles upon which it is founded, including democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights”.

As such, it says, Cyprus will during its six-month term “take forward the enlargement agenda, in line with the established methodology, fair and rigorous conditionality, as well as the principle of own merits and reversibility”. 

“The aim … is to make further solid progress in the enlargement progress of both the western Balkan and eastern candidate countries, supporting and encouraging their commitment and active engagement for EU integration, through reforms and tangible progress on the fundamentals,” it says.

There are ten countries outside the EU which have applied to join the bloc, of which six – Albania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine – are currently negotiating candidates.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia are candidates which are yet to commence negotiations, with Georgia having suspended its application process. Turkey’s negotiations have been frozen since 2016, while Kosovo, which the Republic of Cyprus does not recognise, applied to join the EU in 2022 but has not yet been designated a candidate.

Cyprus’ draft programme made specific reference to Turkey, writing that the country “remains a candidate country” and that “its relations with the EU will continue being assessed within the framework established by the European Council in April 2024”.

In April 2024, the European Council had stated that work to build relations between the EU and Turkey would be carried out “in a phased, proportionate and reversible manner”, with “particular importance” being placed on “the resumption of and progress in the Cyprus settlement talks”.

Returning to the matter of enlargement at large, the programme says Cyprus will “continue the work of previous presidencies on the EU’s internal reforms, aiming to ensure that EU policies, finances and institutions are fit for the future”.

It has now been 13 and a half years since Croatia, the last country to join the EU, did so in 2013, and in the intervening years, one member state, the United Kingdom, has left the bloc.

This 13-and-a-half-year period between new member states’ joining is the longest since the 20 and a half years between the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952 and the accession of Denmark, Ireland and the UK to the European Communities in 1973.

Source: Cyprus Mail