A draft European Commission review proposes «gradual integration» into the EU single market for candidates who align with the bloc’s foreign policy. For the dairy sector, it’s the same access Ukrainian industry demanded at the Białystok forum.
EU candidate countries could be offered unprecedented «gradual integration» into the bloc’s single market — including frictionless trade and access to research programmes — while their membership applications are still being assessed, POLITICO reports, citing a draft European Commission review.
Four countries on a fast track
The review, overseen by Alexandre Adam — a senior adviser to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and a former aide to French President Emmanuel Macron — proposes accelerated «gradual integration» roadmaps specifically for Ukraine, Moldova, Albania and Montenegro. Other candidates — North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Türkiye — face delays in the process, with growing concern they could drift away from the EU or gravitate toward russia or China.
«Earlier integration would open opportunities for Union businesses, strengthen European value chains and reduce strategic dependencies. The Commission will identify where verified regulatory alignment and enforcement capacity allow deeper participation in research, innovation and industrial cooperation, and wider market access. Priority should go to opportunities that advance accession preparations and meet shared economic and strategic needs,» the draft Commission proposal reads.
Conditions for access
Access to EU economic opportunities would be granted based on how far a candidate country supports the bloc’s foreign policy objectives. Participation in sensitive sectors «must be accompanied by cooperation on investment screening, export controls, sanctions implementation and technology protection».
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti called for greater access to EU markets, financing and cooperation programmes, while warning against turning interim benefits into a permanent alternative to membership.
Albin Kurti, Prime Minister of Kosovo: «We support gradual integration, but it must be a pathway to full EU membership, not a parallel process or a substitute for it.»
Conditional, reversible privileges
Access to the benefits will not be unconditional. «If these commitments are not fulfilled, participation must remain reversible. Access should be suspended or revoked where justified,» the draft cautions. Full EU membership remains the ultimate goal for candidates, the review stresses, proposing new conditions for those joining the bloc to guard against backsliding on democracy and the rule of law.
What’s next
Adam’s review is due to be presented to senior EU officials on 6 October, after von der Leyen returns from a trip to the Western Balkans, where she is expected to visit Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia. EU leaders will be asked for their views on enlargement and on what to offer countries still waiting to join at a two-day summit in Brussels starting 15 October.
Source: POLITICO
