BERLIN, July 18 – Speaking in Berlin on July 4, European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn congratulated the just-completed German Presidency “on a difficult job done very well and the results achieved”.
On enlargement and the future foreign policy of the Union, the Presidency achieved “a very great deal”, he said. “I am particularly pleased that we were able to resume the negotiations with Serbia on a Stabilization and Association Agreement, and to keep Turkey moving ahead in its accession negotiations.”
The consequence of successive enlargements and the deepening of integration that has accompanied it in parallel is that Europe is today much safer and more prosperous than it was when the integration process started, said Rehn.
“With 27 Member States and a population of close to 500 million, today’s European Union is much stronger and more influential than the EEC 50 years ago with its 6 Member States and a population of less than 200 million.”
The Commissioner looked forward to the EU continuing to increase its role in the world as a key influence for the development of a stable, multilateral world. “To do this, the EU must develop its capacity to make more coherent foreign policies”, he said, adding: “We have an excellent opportunity to do so by improving the Union’s institutional architecture for external policy.”
And speaking to business leaders in Helsinki a few days earlier, Rehn described the European Commission’s role in the enlargement process as “to watch over the quality of the ‘brand’ of EU membership. Our brand has a positive reputation among investors worldwide – it stands for economic stability and legal certainty, for the rule of law and a well-functioning business environment. The Commission has two objectives. On the one hand, we want to spread the EU label and thereby increase the recognition of our brand. On the other hand, we want to ensure the good reputation of our label. This is why we maintain rigorous conditions for membership. If the label says EU, the product must be of EU quality”. The countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey should bear this in mind, he said.
The report on European Neighborhood Policy adopted at the final General Affairs Council under the German Presidency noted that one of the key principles of the policy to be retained is that “it remains distinct from the process and policy of EU enlargement. Participation in the ENP is crucial in its own right to bolster domestic transformation processes in the interest of our partners’ citizens, independently of an EU accession perspective. Notwithstanding the relevant provisions of the EU Treaty, ENP remains distinct from the question of EU membership; it does not prejudge any possible future developments of partner countries’ relationship with the EU”, says the report, which was backed by EU foreign affairs ministers.
