News: EU General Affairs Council Approves Enlargement Conclusions

The EU General Affairs Council has approved the conclusions on enlargement. In its conclusions, the Council reaffirmed its commitment to enlargement and shared the findings of the Enlargement Package published by the Commission last October regarding the candidate countries for membership. The Council reiterated the need to respect the Copenhagen criteria, including undertaking substantial reforms. Regarding the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), the Council emphasized that Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia are aligning with the EU, while it highlighted the deep divergences with Serbia.

While the Council approved the significant improvements made by Montenegro in the area of the rule of law, it reiterated that Albania is lagging behind in terms of freedom of expression and media access, and it expressed concerns over the lack of progress from Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia. To Serbia, the Council called for respect for the commitments made to normalize relations with Kosovo and for "greater political will to accelerate reforms further and deliver concrete and tangible results."