Ilhan Kyuchyuk to the Hungarian Commissioner-designate: Under what conditions will the accession to the EU of the Western Balkans happen?

The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament held today its hearing of Hungary’s recently proposed Commissioner-designate for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, after the country’s previous candidate was rejected by the Committee on Legal Affairs of the EP.

During the three-hour hearing, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms MEP, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, as Vice-Coordinator of the Renew Europe Group for the Committee on Foreign Affairs, highlighted the topic of enlargement of the EU to the Western Balkans, which is also one of MRF’s main priorities, announced the MEP’s press center.

The MEP pointed out the passing of a year after the launch of the Western Balkans Strategy and the statement by the previous President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker’s statement in 2018 that the Western Balkans have a historic window of opportunity to bind their future to the EU, but also the rejection by the Council on the decision to open accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia.With regard to that matter, he asked the Hungarian candidate for Commissioner on Neighbourhood and Enlargement, “What is your position on the call for the EU to first reform itself then reconsider starting accession negotiations with other countries, and if the negotiation process is reformed, under what conditions should this happen? “

In his response, Oliver Varhelyi stated that he is committed to the enlargement process to the Western Balkan countries, as he does not find deepening European integration and enlargement to be mutually exclusive processes and that he will work with all available instruments as a Commissioner to start the negotiation process with North Macedonia. and Albania before the May 2020 Summit in Zagreb.

“The refusal to open negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia is a historic mistake that the Council must review as soon as possible. However, the position of the leading figure on the accession matters in the Commission is also important for us. Up until this moment, the European Parliament and Commission have been taking a clear and firm stance on Albania and North Macedonia’s readiness to begin negotiations. As the EP’s rapporteur on North Macedonia, I will continue to insist on this, as well as on the fair treatment of the Western Balkans based on objectivity and clarity of the process” commented Ilhan Kyuchyuk.