Discussing France, EU Enlargement, and the Future of Europe

So I'll start with the institutional perspective because this is very important to set the scene.

So Timothée, from the perspective of French institutions, how is EU enlargement currently framed? France has moved from veto in Albania, North Macedonia in 2019, which paved the way for the change of enlargement methodology, to Macron's clear public commitment at GLOBSEC in 2023.

So the emphasis on strict conditionality remains.

Also, institutional reform is there.

How do you characterize France's position today and what has changed since then?

Thanks, Donika, for this question.

And first, let me thank you for...

This opportunity for me to have this discussion and to go deep into the details of the French position on enlargement, which is a topic that we value a lot, that we see as one of the most important topics for the EU as we speak and in the years to come.

You're asking about the French position and the change, if there has been in the last few years.

Let me highlight that in our perspective, we don't really see a change in the French position.

We've always seen enlargement as a very powerful instrument for peace, security, prosperity, provided that accession criteria were met by the countries aspiring to join.

What has amazingly changed in the last few years is more the geopolitical context, which has increased the cost of non-enlargement, both for us, EU member states, but as well as for the aspiring member states, I would say.

And that's what President Macron said in his important speech in Globesec back in 2023.

So if I had to characterize the way we now see enlargement, I would say that enlargement is a strategic necessity.

We need now more than ever maybe to anchor both the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova to the European Union.

We need to anchor them to our values, to our standards, to our policies.

And we don't want them in a gray zone where they would be vulnerable to aggression or to foreign interference.

But we also believe that there should be no shortcuts and that the stability and the attractiveness of the enlargement process is the merit-based rule.

And speaking among friends, let me remind you that those defending the merit-based process the most are often the candidate country.

Because they know that without the merit-based, the value of accession would be amazingly undermined.

And it would also undermine the confidence of our public opinion and weaken ourselves, the EU and the candidate countries.

Sorry if I was too long, but I think it's also important to remind that since 2022, a lot happened, and mainly also thanks to French pushes sometimes.

During the French presidency, for example, there was the first intergovernmental conference with Albania and North Macedonia, and the status of candidate countries were given both to Ukraine and Moldova, which shows for us our strong commitment to enlargement.

Thanks.