Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) had to fight against the image of an inhibitor in the eastern enlargement of the EU at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. “You are inevitably the bad boy here in this group,” American journalist Matina Stevis Gridneff told Schallenberg on Wednesday, who was talking with top representatives from Georgia, Moldova and Estonia. Schallenberg stressed that he “didn’t want to be the bad cop”, but at the same time reiterated his skepticism, for example about Ukraine as a candidate for accession.
During the discussion, Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita and her Georgian counterpart, Irakli Garibashvili, reaffirmed their goal of full EU membership for their country. When asked about the new European community raised by French President Emmanuel Macron, Gavrilita said they had received “public assurances that it is not a substitute for membership”. She welcomes “any mechanism that brings us together, as long as it doesn’t replace the path to membership,” she emphasized. Garibaschvili made a similar statement. “Anything that brings us closer to EU membership is of course acceptable to us. We have no alternative.” The ultimate goal, however, is full EU membership.
Estonian President Alar Karis said one should be “careful” with such proposals. Estonia was also offered this, “and we said no”. “The fact is that it could be a replacement,” warned Karis. Ukraine should be granted EU candidate status. “There are no shortcuts, but you need the green light to start this whole process,” he said. Estonia has waited nine years to join but knows the importance of being part of the EU, the president of the former Soviet republic said.
‘Candidate country as a label changes nothing’
Schallenberg stressed that enlargement is “the largest and most powerful geopolitical instrument” of the European Union. But one must make the rapprochement with the EU “tangible”. “The label of a candidate country changes nothing and does not bring you an inch closer to the European Union,” argued the foreign minister. He refers to the negative experiences in the Western Balkans. North Macedonia was granted candidate status 17 years ago, “and we are now discussing whether we should finally open accession negotiations.”
“We must not make the same mistake in Ukraine, Moldova and other countries,” Schallenberg said. “Symbolism is important,” he said, referring to the plan to grant Ukraine candidate status at the EU summit in June. But it would be a “bad sign” if “it doesn’t happen” in the next few years. “We are being watched. Moscow is watching us, Beijing and others,” said Schallenberg, who also called for rapid rapprochement between the western Balkan states in this regard.
Ukraine war “shock therapy” for EU
At the same time, Schallenberg tried to downplay internal differences within the European Union. “We are always very good at highlighting our differences in the EU,” he said. In fact, however, he experiences “a strong sense of unity” at every meeting with his EU counterparts. The war in Ukraine is “perhaps a shock therapy” showing that European integration is not just about “counting peas” and implementing guidelines, but “about our lifestyle” and “that even my grandchildren can one day grow up in a society that is open and pluralistic,” says Schallenberg.
Source: Krone
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