Conditions of the enlargement process
According to Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union, any European country can apply for membership of the Union.
"Any European State which respects the principles set out in Article 6 (1) may apply to become a member of the Union. It shall address its application to the Council, which shall act unanimously after consulting the Commission and after receiving the assent of the European Parliament, which shall act by an absolute majority of its component members.
The conditions of admission and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the Union is founded, which such admission entails, shall be the subject of an agreement between the Member States and the applicant State. This agreement shall be submitted for ratification by all the contracting States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements."
Article 6 (1):
"The Union is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law, principles which are common to the Member States."
Striking a balance
The eastern enlargement of the EU on 1 May 2004, which saw the accession of ten new member states, represented a major political and economic challenge as well as a great achievement for the new and old member states and their populations, just as it did for the institutions of the EU. The aim now is to strike a balance between two necessities: on the one hand, the need to continue the process of enlargement, which is important for reasons of political stability and to further our foreign-policy goals, and, on the other hand, the need to continue the process of internal consolidation, without which the EU's absorption capacity could suffer.
Consolidation – Conditionality – Communication
Germany remains committed to continuing the process of enlargement. We argue for the judicious continuation of this process (see "enlargement process parameters following the fifth round of enlargement"); in this connection we support the Commission's "three Cs" policy:
- „Consolidation" of the EU's own commitments,
- "Conditionality" (i.e. the requirement that accession candidates meet obligations),
- "Communication" with citizens in order to win their support for enlargement.
As the number of members grows, the issue of the EU's absorption/integration capacity, i.e. its capacity to integrate further members successfully, takes on increasing significance. Those neighbouring countries of the EU for which accession does not come into question have the opportunity to develop closer links with European structures through the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).
Germany insists on strict adherence to the relevant criteria, including the Commission's proposed benchmarks for the accession negotiations and the road map it has drawn up to help the countries of the Western Balkans prepare for integration into European structures in line with the Thessaloniki agenda. We reject time tables and any automatic progression from one stage to the next.
Reform of the institutions
The negative outcome of the Irish referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon has given rise to renewed debate on the link between treaty reform and enlargement. Already in 2000 the then fifteen member states had agreed on the need for a fundamental overhaul of the way the EU functions in order to make it more democratic and transparent and ensure it can act even more effectively. The EU consensus on continuing the enlargement process requires that the treaties governing the way the EU functions be reformed as well. Germany remains keen to see the Treaty of Lisbon enter into force.
Last updated 07.04.2009