Italian EU minister calls for reflection period before more enlargement

Before proceeding with EU enlargement, there is a need to reflect on member states’ priorities and the bloc’s financial capacity, Italian EU Affairs Minister Raffaele Fitto said at an event on Tuesday.

Fitto called for time to reflect during the so-called “Rimini Meeting” – an event organised by the influential lay Catholic group Communion and Liberation.

A “new model” of the European Union is needed before new countries join the EU bloc, said Fio, with the bloc’s accession of new countries. It should address major issues such as defence, foreign policy, migration flows and industrial policy. Differences between EU countries would be eliminated by identifying priorities to be tackled in synergy and defining the “main tasks”, he added.

“These are issues that need to be put in front of the choices to be put in place because, otherwise, we risk opening a more general reflection without having capacity, means and structures to be able to carry it out”, Fitto stressed.

There are currently eight countries officially applying to join the European Union and in the process of bringing their national legislation up to speed with EU accession requirements: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine. Kosovo applied for membership in December 2022, with Georgia applying shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.

EU membership is an often lengthy and complex procedure, requiring candidate countries not only to meet the criteria for accession – known as the ‘Copenhagen criteria’ – but also to transpose European legislation in all areas.

“Hypothesising – from now and for the next few years – about such a large Europe does not only involve throwing one’s heart over the hurdle but also a reflection (…) What financial capacity and what model do we envision for building this dimension?”, Fitto asked the audience.

Shortly before Fitto’s speech, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, who spoke at the same meeting, called for negotiations on Ukraine’s entry into the EU to start as soon as possible.

“We granted Ukraine the status of ‘candidate’ to join the European Union last summer, and I hope negotiations can begin as soon as possible”, Metsola said, reiterating “unconditional support” for the warring country.

(Federica Pascale | EURACTIV.it)