The debate will take place during the European Council summit later this week, in line with the draft conclusions reached by POLITICO. While EU leaders will outline the plan’s vision, they will simply agree to reconsider the issue at a later date, the document said. At the meeting, EU leaders will also discuss whether to grant Ukraine candidate status – an important step on the road to joining the bloc. But they have not yet reached a conclusion on the matter, according to the document. Ahead of the meeting, France promoted the idea of a political community in a memorandum shared with EU ambassadors ahead of a preliminary discussion Wednesday. In the document, received by POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook, France argues that Ukraine’s path to EU membership will be long and therefore not what the country needs at the moment as it faces the Russian war, even though Kyiv has “Legitimate ambitions” to join the bloc eventually. Ukraine has applied for EU membership after the Russian invasion and is begging EU leaders to grant it candidate status quickly, rejecting any option in the middle. However, some EU countries are still reluctant to move too fast, arguing that Ukraine is not structurally ready. The French note, also called “non-paper”, argues that the EU candidate status “does not currently provide the necessary political framework to meet the urgent historical and geopolitical needs arising from the war against Ukraine”. The issue will be high on the agenda of next week’s European Council summit, according to the draft conclusions. “The aim is to provide a political coordination platform for European countries across the continent,” the findings said. “It could concern the Western Balkans, the associated countries of our Eastern Partnership and other European countries with which we have close relations.” However, as a sign that there are still many unanswered questions about the French proposal and that the conclusions of the summit are still likely to change, the draft text contains positions that raise relevant questions about the French idea: “What, who, why ; “ A senior EU diplomat told POLITICO that while other EU countries were not opposed to the idea, “its success will depend on the added value” of the potential new institution. In addition to Ukraine, EU leaders will also consider granting candidate status to Moldova and Georgia. Moldova is considered more likely than Georgia to receive the designation. The draft EU conclusions state that the proposed French framework “will not replace or complement existing EU policies and instruments, in particular enlargement”, a concession to neighboring countries who fear Macron’s plan will bury their chances of becoming a full member of the EU. Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger told POLITICO on Monday that “every country” should be given the opportunity to participate in EU enlargement, but that in countries that are not making enough progress, the French model could be offered as an alternative. The draft conclusions specifically address the possible enlargement of the EU to the Western Balkans, where ambitions to expand the bloc have largely stalled. The document states that “the European Union expresses its full commitment to the unquestionable prospect of the Western Balkans joining the EU and calls for the acceleration of the EU accession process”. However, he also notes that the enlargement process must be done “in a reversible and meritocratic way”, which means that countries that do not make enough progress could be downgraded – Serbia, for example, has angered EU leaders by refusing to do so. to take part in Western sanctions against Russia. other actions. The French note to EU ambassadors states that the proposed European Political Community will be large-scale, ‘open to European states that share a common set of democratic values… regardless of the nature of their current relationship with the European Union: whether they want to join in it, they have abandoned it, they do not intend to join it or are bound to it only by financial agreements “. The wording would open the door to the UK, which recently left the EU. Macron first put forward his idea for a European “community” on May 9 in Strasbourg, giving a few details about what it would entail. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba responded to the idea with skepticism. “No alternative to Ukraine’s European integration will be acceptable,” he said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he knew it would take time to join the EU, but that granting him candidate status would provide an invaluable boost to his country’s morale. Participation in the proposed European Political Community would not prevent Ukraine from being a candidate for the EU, France stressed. Macron is paying a visit to Moldova, where he is expected to discuss the idea with President Maya Santou.
