Georgian FM says new EU enlargement rules raise questions how ready EU is to accept new members

Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili on Wednesday reviewed new rules of EU enlargement policy, questioning how ready the EU itself was to accept new member states, especially against the backdrop of the fact that the issue of enlargement had become an important part of European security and geopolitical processes.

In her interview with Imedi TV, Botchorishvili noted that the right of veto was one of the main guarantees of equality and equal rights among EU member states.

“Even during the Munich Conference, there was discussion about how ready the EU was to accept new member states. Special emphasis was placed on Ukraine, because at that time it was said that the issue of Ukraine's accession to the EU was part of the peace negotiations and even caused indignation among a number of EU member states about the extent to which third countries should dictate to the EU when and under what conditions it should enlarge. After that, talks intensified on what rules the enlargement should be based on. The EU is somehow facing the fact that further postponing and dragging out the issue of enlargement may become impossible at some point”, the FM said.

“There has been a lot of talk recently, and the case of Hungary has often been used to show how negatively one country's veto power over EU decisions could affect them. This is precisely the guarantee of equality, of equal rights between member states. It is impossible for me to definitively discuss what the conditions will be, because it has not been written, signed and agreed upon, although it is clear that there is talk of new members having a promise in the accession agreement for how many years they will not have certain rights, such as those of other member states”, she continued.

Botchorishvili further added that such an approach of the European Union, according to which new member states might not have the rights that other member states enjoy for a certain period of time, raised important questions regarding the future direction of the European Union's development.

“The main question here is whether the EU is ready for enlargement. If the EU is already starting to look for ways to prevent new member states from becoming full members, this means that the EU is not ready for a new enlargement and is simply looking for a way to create the illusion of enlargement”, she claimed.

The top Georgian diplomat further added that the changes related to the enlargement process did not only concern institutional issues and might also have an impact on the fundamental principles of the European Union.

“What does it mean that Brussels rules, without any voice or consideration of a country's own interests, should be binding on all member states, regardless of whether this is in line with their national interests or not? This fundamentally changes the essence of the European Union itself. The European Union is a union of sovereign states. Of course, there is a concession of certain parts of sovereignty in favor of the Union, although this has never been the case with foreign policy”, she noted.

As the Minister added, in this context, additional questions arose as to how the national interests of the member states would be protected and to what extent they would retain the ability to make independent foreign policy decisions under the new model of EU enlargement.

Botchorishvili emphasized that it was particularly difficult for the Georgian Government to assess the future visions of the EU enlargement in the conditions when the country received the status of candidate, although within a few months the EU suspended the dialogue with the candidate country.

“It is very difficult to talk about the enlargement of the EU today and have a full idea of ​​their visions, what they think and how they think about the future”, she concluded.