Rule of law and enlargement in an informal EU Council with the participation of M. Raunas – What he mentioned
The debate on the rule of law in the context of the enlargement process, as well as issues concerning the future of Europe, were on the agenda of the informal meeting of the EU General Affairs Council, which was attended on Monday and Tuesday in Brussels by the Deputy Minister for European Affairs, Marilena Rauna.
According to an announcement, as part of the session, a working breakfast was held on Tuesday in which Ministers and representatives of countries with a European perspective also participated, as mentioned, during which they exchanged views on the challenges, needs and best practices around rule of law reforms in the context of the enlargement process.
The Permanent Representative of the country to the EU institutions, Faruk Kaymaktsi, participated on behalf of Turkey in Tuesday's meeting. North Macedonia and Bosnia were also represented at Ambassador level – Herzegovina, while the rest of the candidate countries for membership were represented at Ministerial level, according to information from the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The previous day Mrs. Rauna participated in a celebratory event of the Belgian Presidency for the 20 years since the 2004 enlargement.
In her intervention at Tuesday's meeting, Mrs. Rauna said that “the current geopolitical developments make it obvious the importance of further promoting the enlargement process, as an effective and necessary geopolitical tool and catalyst for peace and stability in the EU”.
The Deputy Minister welcomed all the accession countries and emphasized that “the accession process is governed by fair and strict fairness and that each country is evaluated on the basis of the progress achieved in fulfilling the accession conditions”, as the rule of law, respect for international law and of good neighborly relations are fundamental principles of the EU, according to the announcement.
As it is added, then the competent Ministers of the 27 discussed, in groups, ways to strengthen the Union's toolbox for the implementation of the rule of law on the basis of a relevant study by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Support (International IDEA).
Ms Rauna chaired a working group involving Estonia, Germany, Italy, Romania, Sweden and the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU, and presented the results of the discussions before the plenary of the member states.< /p>
The informal Council concluded with a discussion on the future of Europe and internal reforms in the EU. As part of the discussion, the Deputy Minister said that the EU “needs to become more resilient and competitive, strategically autonomous, so that it can to face future challenges effectively, with policies that meet the needs of European citizens”.
On the sidelines of the Council's work, Mrs Rauna had a bilateral meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova, Cristina Gerasimov, responsible for European assimilation and chief negotiator with the EU, with whom she discussed the country's European course and progress in advancing the reform program.
