Austria: Gradual plan for EU enlargement
At the end of May, Austria’s Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (VP) and Europe Minister Karoline Edtstadler (VP) sent an unofficial working paper – called “Non Paper” – to all EU member states as well as to EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell and EU Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi.
It proposes a step-by-step plan for possible EU enlargements, especially for states in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. This ranges from integration into the internal market to participation in EU energy and climate policy and EU education programs as well as the common foreign and security policy and the common security and defense policy to participation in European precautionary mechanisms. Ways must be found to make the accession process more tangible, the citizens of the candidate countries should also associate the necessary reforms on the way to accession with advantages, says Austria’s position paper. Crucial for the initiative was the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. “The crisis is threatening the EU’s Eastern Neighborhood Policy and could have a negative impact on stability in the Western Balkans. As a result, the conflict would shift from the borders of the EU to its center,” warn Schallenberg and Edtstadler.
Slovenia’s Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon has signaled support for the initiative. “I’ve read the paper, it’s a good one and we’ll discuss it further,” she said. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hungary and Italy are also positive. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas was cautious. She, offering other ways, is not breaking the hope that candidate countries like Ukraine said.