Western Balkans countries and Moldova should be involved more in the daily business of the EU, as they progress on domestic reforms, a Franco-German paper suggests
France and Germany have pitched a new plan to bring Western Balkans nations and Moldova closer to the EU, in a bid to inject a “new dynamism” into the bloc’s expansion.
The paper, seen by Euractiv, fleshes out ideas tabled by Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, when he suggested granting associate EU membership to Ukraine last month and said the slowness of the enlargement process was generating frustration for all countries involved.
With EU leaders set to descend on Montenegro for an enlargement summit on Friday, the Franco-German push is in part an attempt to show the Balkans that they’re not being left behind, and that they have more to offer than merely cheaper roaming.
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